A Panther's Home
by Aria6
Summary: Grimmjow is minding his own business, living his own life as a magical hacker, fixing technology to run on elven magic. But then he buys a hover car for spare parts, and finds a shocking surprise in the trunk. What will happen then? Possibly a lot of danger. AU, lemons will follow.
1. Chapter 1

"This thing ain't stolen, is it Yammy?" Grimmjow said suspiciously, slowly circling the hover car.

It wasn't much of a hover car. Half decent at best, it was covered in scratches and infiltrated with rust. But when he popped open the hood, he saw an engine that looked functional. When he checked the stability boosters and other stuff, he saw plenty of good parts just begging to be yanked out and set into a decent chassis.

"No, it ain't stolen, I swear on my mamma's grave." Yammy pledged. "I wouldn't have been able to get it off Earth if it was." Grimmjow grunted, conceding the point with a dip of his head.

They were on Elvenhome. A long, long time ago, a permanent portal had been created between the two worlds. Magic worked here, not technology, which was how jobs like his had evolved. He was a cracker, someone who specialized in making custom technology that actually ran on magic. To say it was tricky would be an understatement. He had to rework every single piece, put the magic in and make it self-sufficient. Even then, it would eventually run down. But once his work was done, any half-competent wizard or elf could recharge it. It was the cracking that was tricky.

"You got the paperwork?" He held out a hand and Yammy supplied the documents. After a good, long perusal Grimmjow grunted in satisfaction. "Good. Now how much do you want for this?" They went back and forth for a while before settling on a mutually agreeable price. "Since this thing ain't hot, you willing to do a deposit?" That would create a record for them both.

"Nah. I'd like the money, if you have it. Just write me out a slip." Yammy said and Grimmjow gave him a hard look before he shrugged. "I wanna go to a strip club. You gotta problem?"

"Oh. Okay. Want me to clean out my stash of one dollar bills for ya?" Grimmjow said drily and Yammy laughed.

"If you can I'd appreciate it man." Grimmjow nodded and went to get the cash. He kept it in an empty pizza box in the freezer. His house had been burgled a few times, but he hadn't lost it yet. And most of the burglers had gotten tripped up on his security systems, so he wasn't exactly worried. Coming back, he gave Yammy the money and made sure he had plenty of ones. "Shit, a strip club sounds pretty good right now." Grimmjow muttered. It had been a while since he'd seen any tits. Or even a cock and balls. Yammy laughed, counting his money.

"You want to come? We ain't best buddies but right now I'll call ya a friend." Yammy said cheerfully as he pocketed his cash, and Grimmjow really considered it. They didn't get along that well, mainly because he was really fucking smart and Yammy really wasn't. That made them grate on each other a bit, but as long as he refrained from being a dick it could be managed. Still…

"Nah, thanks for the offer but I really need to earn some cash. My family…" He shrugged and Yammy nodded. They both knew about his family.

"Then I'll see ya later Grimmjow." Yammy left and Grimmjow made sure to lock everything up behind him before going to scope out his prize.

The first thing he did was check the glove compartments. You never knew what someone might leave behind. To his mild pleasure, there was a portable diagnostic tool in one of the compartments. He could rework that to check for magic based problems and resell it. There were also maps, and he unfurled them before snorting at them. Japan?

"This car has been places." He muttered. Although the Earth side connection to Elvenhome wasn't stable. The damned thing shifted every year. Was it in Japan this year? Could be. Grimmjow didn't keep track of that shit. As far as he was concerned, Earth could go fuck itself. The maps were worthless, though, and he tossed them away. Then he went to the back and, with the help of a few tools, jigged the lock and popped the trunk.

Grimmjow heard himself make a sound somewhere between a yelp and a scream. He hadn't made a sound like that since a girlfriend had surprised him with a python. And frankly, the snake had been less surprising than the frightened eyes staring at him out of the trunk of that ruined hover car.

_HOLYFUCK why is there a person in my fucking car?!_ Grimmjow swallowed, hard, as he met those chocolate brown eyes. _Why did Yammy sell me a car with a PERSON in it?_ He drew in a shuddering breath, about ready to completely spaz. This didn't happen. It just didn't, not with a _legal_ car. Then logic caught up with him.

The paperwork was perfect and Yammy just wasn't smart enough to fake that shit. His gaze slid down the body in his trunk… a teenager, a fucking kid… and saw all the ties on him. All the duct tape. The kid couldn't move, couldn't even thump to let someone know he was there. _Holy. Fuck._ Grimmjow gripped the edge of the trunk as his thoughts went on to their logical conclusion. He'd seen some monstrous shit in his time, before he became a cracker. So he knew exactly what this was. _Someone sent this car to the junkyard for recycling with the kid in the trunk. Awake, aware of what was gonna happen to him. Holy shit. _He would have been able to hear all the cars ahead of him getting crushed…

Grimmjow took a deep, shuddering breath and ran to get some scissors. He had some in the kitchen, he used them to take apart chickens and open stubborn plastic casings on electronics. Then he paused a moment and grabbed his taser, stuffing it into his belt. He had a knife in his boot, but that was a long way to reach. And just because this kid had been the victim of some pretty impressive sadism did not make him a fucking angel. He had to be pretty damned desperate and Grimmjow was not going to trust him just yet.

He snipped through the ropes and worked on the duct tape. He yanked it off the kids face first, and winced as it took a huge chunk of orange hair with it. But the kid didn't scream, just whimpered faintly.

"Water… please…" That raspy, agonized sound arrested Grimmjow for a moment. How long had the poor kid been in here? From the smell, it had been a while. Sprinting for the kitchen, he filled up water bottle and grabbed a plastic straw. It was a curley-wurley one, he enjoyed them when he made cocktails. But it would be a hell of a lot easier for the kid to use while he was working on freeing him.

"Here ya go." Grimmjow said, setting the bottle beside the kid and putting the straw between his lips. The teen sucked greedily as Grimmjow went back to his work. He whimpered a few times as hairs got yanked out of bare skin, but just kept sucking away. Grimmjow wasn't surprised when he heard the straw scrape the bottom.

"More?" The kid asked plaintively and he nodded, taking the bottle.

"Sec." He went back to the kitchen, filling it up again. This time he grabbed a bottle of sugar and added a bit, along with some lemon juice. He didn't know shit about hydration, but weren't they supposed to have electrolytes? Or something like that. He shook the bottle a bit before bringing it out. "I put in some sugar and squeezed a lemon, thought it might help." The teen didn't care and just started draining it again, gripping it with one shaky hand.

It took him a good fifteen minutes to get the kid free. There was more duct tape and ropes than he'd ever imagined putting on one person, and he'd been around serial killers in his time. As soon as he had the kid free, he helped him out of the car and cringed a little at the stench. Someone had crapped his pants, but given how long he'd probably been in that trunk, it was totally understandable. The kid couldn't stand, so he set him onto the floor.

"Here, let me get this shit off you." He muttered and began stripping the teen. At first the kid moaned and tried to fight him. "Damnit kid! You smell like ass! I not gonna rape you, Jack the Ripper wouldn't rape you right now, you're disgusting!" That made him blink and the teen went still, breathing heavily as Grimmjow stripped him. The stench when he got to his underwear… Grimmjow grit his teeth, yanking the horrible things off and tossing them into the trunk. "Okay, bath time." He hoisted the kid up, carrying him into the house.

It was a damned fine house in a not so fine part of town. Grimmjow had gutted the place and had it fully renovated before he moved in, so there was an absolutely enormous tub in the bathroom. It was a whirlpool tub and designed to seat three people comfortably. He set the dazed teen into the tub and began to run the water, making sure it wouldn't be too hot. Then he frowned.

"You okay? Not gonna slip down and drown or anything?" The teen looked up and shook his head, his brown eyes wide and frightened. "Okay. You take care of yourself then." He pointed to the side of the tub. "You've got a scrub brush, soap and lots of hair stuff. Get clean and I'll go make you something to eat. You need more water?" The kid licked his lips and nodded. "I'll get you a glass."

"Th-thank you." The teen's voice was getting better, a lot better. Grimmjow gave him a quick smile before going back to the kitchen. This time he got the kid a real glass, but kept the curley-wurley straw. He might like it. He delivered it, and smiled when he saw the kid had found his stash of bubble bath. He couldn't see anything interesting anymore, not that the teen was remotely sexy at the moment. Nauseating was a better description for him.

Mission accomplished, Grimmjow went back to the kitchen and tried to think. How long had the kid been in the car? Probably one day at the scrapyard, another day to get into Elvenhome, and a third for Yammy to hunt him down. Three days, probably, and the kid was damned lucky the car hadn't been held up by customs. If it had, Grimmjow would have found a rotting corpse. Shrugging away that utterly gruesome image, Grimmjow sorted through his cupboards and fridge, trying to find something good to eat for someone who'd been starved for three days. He pulled out a Tupperware container of homemade chicken broth and considered it for a moment. It was under seasoned, but that was deliberate. Whenever he used it as a soup base, he added his choice of spices to give it flavor.

It was also perfect for this. He added a bit of Italian spice mix and a bit of frozen vegetables, then microwaved the whole thing. His magic-based microwave sang to him, a special tone he'd built in himself, and he pulled out the food. He grabbed a spoon and tried it, making sure the veggies were soft and the soup was hot. Satisfied, he grabbed another spoon and carried the meal into the bathroom.

The kid was scrubbing away when he came in, and looked up warily. But his eyes lit up as he saw the food. Grimmjow set it on the edge of the tub and he grabbed it, tucking in like he was starving. Which he undoubtedly was.

"Needs more salt." He said after a while and Grimmjow grinned.

"Oi! Teach me how to cook, will ya?" Then he looked at the soup consideringly. "I usually put in this Chinese sausage, it's salty and sweet, so you're probably right. Want me to get ya a saltshaker?" The kid shook his head, not stopping his feeding frenzy for a moment. Grimmjow sat down on the edge of the tub and the kid glanced up warily.

"Want to tell me your name? I can't just go calling you kid or teenager." He said quietly and the satisfaction of seeing the kid look annoyed.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. Who are you?" He asked, his spoon scraping the bottom of the bowl.

"Grimmjow Jagerjaques. Your name sounds Japanese." He observed and saw the kid scowl.

"I am Japanese. This is Japan." He said, slightly offended, and Grimmjow grinned. The teen had no fucking clue.

"No, actually, it's not. This is Elvenhome." The teen looked at him wide eyed and Grimmjow's grin turned into a smile. "And the portal's been kicking about America for seven years, and before that I think it was in Australia for a while. Not many people speak Japanese around here. But you sound like you've got some good English." The kid had only a mild accent.

"Elvenhome? Really?" The kid said, almost breathless. There was a strange hope in his eyes. "How… how could I get here?" He asked and Grimmjow shrugged.

"You should ask how could a car get here. And that's pretty simple. Guys like Yammy buy up junkers with good parts, ship them over the lines and deliver 'em to crackers like me. I take out the parts and make things for human and elven buyers." Ichigo was looking at him open mouthed now, and Grimmjow knew why. Most humans were in awe of the elves, which he considered to be both pointless and stupid. Elves were nothing great, just different. "And that's how you ended up in Elvenhome."

"I see." Ichigo said, looking at his bowl. Grimmjow took the hint and picked it up. "Could I get something more solid?" The teen asked and he nodded.

"Sure, I'll get you something." This time, he got the kid a bunch of pepperettes, a wack of cheese and some gluten free crackers. Grimmjow was gluten intolerant and knew it. It was pretty common for someone with his family history. He brought the plate into the bathroom and the kid immediately started to chow down. "So. Want to tell me how you came to be in the trunk of my hover car?" He asked, sitting on the edge of the tub again. The teen gave him an irritated look.

"Can we talk about this later? When I'm not naked?" He said and Grimmjow glanced down at the water. The bubbles were still there, but not as perky. "Stop that!"

"Ichigo, I can honestly say I am not at all attracted to you right now." Grimmjow paused to look over the teen's face. Big brown eyes, an orange mop of hair over a nice face with a straight nose and thin lips. Not bad. As for his body, Grimmjow couldn't see much but what he did see he liked. Nicely muscled arms, nicely muscled back and some tight abs. The kid clearly did something physically demanding. "Maybe I'll be into you when you aren't so smelly." There was still a bit of a reek. Speaking of which… "You ought to drain out that water and run another tubful."

"Only if you get out of the room." He said sharply and Grimmjow sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Fucking prude." But he got out of the room. "Ugh." His curiosity was killing him, but maybe they should just discuss it later since his houseguest seemed to have a problem with nakedness.

Going to his bedroom, he tried to find something that would fit the kid. He was a bit shorter and a hell of a lot slighter, but that wasn't necessarily a problem. Grimmjow never threw anything away, and after a bit of searching he found some old, old clothes. Grimacing a little, he pulled them out and put them up against his body. It was hard to believe he'd fit them once.

"What a month of starvation will do to ya." He mumbled to himself. But they should fit the kid perfectly, and thankfully, his physique was not due to starvation. No, he just had a more wiry build than Grimmjow. He bundled up the clothes and tossed them into the bathroom. "Those ought to fit." He called in, hearing a muffled thanks before he shut the door.

Feeling antsy, he decided to get started making some real food. For him, real food was a bit of catfish he'd thawed out, a crapload of veggies, chicken stock and curry spices. Elves were big into vegetables, so they were always plentiful and cheap in the city. Meat was more expensive, and things like coconut milk were hard to come by. He saved that for special occasions.

Stirring the pot, he looked up as the kid finally came out of the bathroom. The clothes actually looked good on him, despite being painfully out of style. An old, dark green dress shirt and denim jeans with the classic bell bottom look, they fit him quite snugly.

"You're looking good. Want some more food?" Grimmjow asked and the kid licked his lips before nodding. "Okay. Now, can you tell me how you ended up in that car?" He was absolutely dying to know. He ladelled out the curry and Ichigo took his bowl, settling down on the couch before speaking.

"I – I'm honestly not sure. I think it has to do with my dad." Ichigo said softly, his brown eyes very unhappy. "And my uncle. They're into something, something deep, but they would never tell me what. They just told me to go to school and be a normal teenager."

"You sure?" Grimmjow said skeptically and watched as brown eyes flicked up to meet blue. "I'm not a total expert on this kind of shit, you understand." _There might be one or two people who know more about it than me. _He added mentally. "But that looked personal. If I were trying to get at your dad, I might torture and rape you and make a video of it to send to him." Ichigo went pale and he waved a hand. "That's if I were a serial killer, don't get the wrong idea here. Anyway, I might do this I might do that. But what was actually done was meant to torture you, not your dad or your uncle. Could someone have something personal against you?" Somehow, the malice of what had been done to Ichigo seemed profoundly person to him. Ichigo shook his head, dropping his gaze. "Huh. Well." Grimmjow hesitated a moment. "Do you want to go back to Japan?" He asked and Ichigo looked up, surprised.

"Of course! It's my home. My dad and my sisters are there." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Grimmjow sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"So is whoever set you up to die in such a fucking horrible way." He pointed out and the kid swallowed, looking down. "Why don't you give me your dad's phone number and I'll get in touch with him, see what he wants you to do? You realize that Elvenhome is probably really fucking safe, right?" He said and Ichigo looked puzzled. "Guns don't work here. The elves don't allow crackers to fix them, either, and breaking elven laws is immediate capital punishment territory. I don't know of any cracker willing to do it. The most they allow is tasers. Our street gangs here use knives and swords." Grimmjow grinned, glancing at one of his walls. There was a sheathed katana, hung on a hook and ready for travelling, complete with leather belt. Ichigo followed his gaze and blinked. "And I am fucking good with a sword." That was nothing but the truth.

"I'm sure my father will want me back. And why should I trust you?" Ichigo asked with a frown and Grimmjow shrugged.

"Why shouldn't you trust me? The fact that you ended up in my shop is just so fucking random, it's unbelievable." He pointed out and Ichigo had to nod. "I'll take a quick trip to Earth and call your dad on a disposable cell, see what he wants done. Then I'll come back and let you know. It won't take more than five hours if I time it right." The problem was the traffic. The bridge to the human world was always completely congested with traffic. Earth had a good appetite for elven goods, and the human city in Elvenhome needed plenty of supplies. Not to mention the stuff the elves wanted from Earth. Trade ran both ways. "And you can't come." Grimmjow added as Ichigo opened his mouth. "You've got no ID. We'd get held up by customs for sure, and then it would all go to shit. Take my word for it, the authorities around here are corrupt as hell." Grimmjow grimaced. Elvenhome was his home, but he knew the city was a disaster zone. The elves didn't care as long as the disaster was confined to the city, and the despot in charge was careful to never overstep his limits.

The point, though, was that if he tried to take a kid with no ID through customs ever single part person all the way down to the janitors would want a bribe. It wouldn't be that expensive, but it would be time consuming and Grimmjow just didn't want to deal with it.

Ichigo studied him for a long moment, long enough to make Grimmjow feel vaguely uncomfortable. Then he finally nodded.

"I'll trust you." He said quietly. "Do you have a pen? I should write this down for you." Ichigo said and Grimmjow found him a post-it note and a pen. He took the note from Ichigo, carefully folding it in half and sticking it in his pocket. "Will I be safe here?" He asked, a bit worried and Grimmjow laughed.

"You should be fine. I've been burgled before, but my security system is top notch. You can go outside if you want, just stay in the junk pile." Ichigo gave him a confused look and Grimmjow elaborated. "This house is in the industrial sector and it came with a bit of property, used to be a parking lot. Now it's my junkyard. I keep a lot of shit there, cars I'm taking apart, big rigs, that sort of thing. When it starts getting too full I sell some stuff to a scrap dealer or take a few loads to the dump." Ichigo blinked and looked at the window. Then the teen set down his food, and walked over to the glass. Grimmjow followed, smiling.

"Oh my god." Ichigo whispered as he opened the window and pushed his head outside. Grimmjow knew what he was seeing. Elvenhome was in fact another world, in another galaxy, although because of the intimate connection with Earth it had similar flora and fauna. But what Ichigo was seeing was a completely alien night sky. Even with the lights of the city blotting part of it out, the stars were insanely brilliant. They were much closer to the heart of the Milky Way. "I really am in Elvenhome." He said softly, and Grimmjow touched his shoulder for a moment.

"It's a great place. Take my word for it." He told the teen, who just looked at him, brown eyes wide and full of an unfathomable emotion. "C'mon, you should get some sleep." After his ordeal, Ichigo had to be tired. And Grimmjow certainly was.

It had been an eventful day.


	2. Partnership Begins

Grimmjow unbelted his sword, handing it to the customs' officer.

Swords and knives were fully legal in Elvenhome. The elves insisted, since their culture was heavily into swords. It made life a bit rough on the police, sometimes, but that was life. The police mostly didn't bother with the bad side of town anyway.

Things were different on Earth, and Grimmjow accepted the chit for his sword with a smile. He knew the drill, he was an old hand at it. Going to a kiosk, he went to find a disposable cell phone. He had a real one, but it didn't work on the Earth networks.

Humming to himself, he dialed Ichigo's dads' number. To his surprise, it rang out of service. Frowning slightly, he tried Ichigo's uncle. That phone at least rang, but when it was picked up he got something rather obnoxious.

_What the fuck is it?_ Grimmjow blinked at the childish voice.

"Uh, I need to talk to… Urahara Kisuke." He said after he consulted the paper for a moment. "Can you get him for me?"

_What's it about?_ The kid said suspiciously and Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"About something of his I found in a fucking car. Namely, one kid with orange hair who is fucking lucky to be alive. Get him, would you?" Grimmjow said in a bored tone and heard a sharp intake of breath. Then he heard shouts and suddenly there was someone else on the line.

_Why would you call me on this line? It's not secure._ He sounded out of breath and Grimmjow blinked.

"Well I dunno who you're expecting to call you, but I don't think I'm it." There was a dead silence from the other end. "I'm just the random as fuck guy who found your nephew. Did you want me to call you on a different number?" This was getting weird, but it was hardly the first time.

_No… there's no point now… who are you? Nevermind. Is Ichigo safe?_ The anxiety in that voice was palpable. Grimmjow shrugged.

"Safe enough now, for someone pretty badly dehydrated and covered in his own waste. But he'll recover. He wants to go home, but I'm an evil bastard with a suspicious mind so I thought I should check first. Is that a good idea?" He asked and the answer was quick and a touch surprising.

_No. Keep him wherever he is now._ Grimmjow blinked and then his eyes narrowed. Why was the first line ringing out of service?

"What's happened to his family?" He asked. "I tried that number first and it rang out of service." He was getting a bad feeling now.

_There was a fire. We really need to cut this conversation short, someone might be tracking you._ The phone abruptly went dead and Grimmjow stared at it for a moment. Instead of taking it with him, which he would usually have done, he tossed the phone in the trash and went back towards customs.

He'd been planning to do some shopping on Earth, but now he just wanted to get home.

* * *

"This place is nice." Ichigo murmured to himself as he explored Grimmjow's home.

It was a big place. Two stories with a basement, Ichigo thought it might have more square footage than his own home, and there were four people living there. This fancy place only held Grimmjow.

He was making use of the space, though. Ichigo smiled as he looked at the dining room. Instead of a normal table with chairs, there was an industrial metal table with parts strewn across it. Also designs. Ichigo picked one up, trying to understand what he was looking at, then gave up and set it back down. It was gobbledygook to him.

Beside the dining room was the den, and it was very comfortable. Black leather couches and an absolutely huge widescreen TV filled the space, along with a pretty black table with a glass top. Ichigo could tell that Grimmjow had taste, although the clutter ruined it a bit. Even in here, there were a few parts on the tabletop. A pretty little glass bowl was full of lug nuts and other small, random bits. Ichigo smiled as he explored the kitchen.

The kitchen was beautiful. Ichigo ran a hand over granite countertops and looked at the gas stove. There was something odd about it, and it took him a moment to realize that it had to be adapted to Elvenhome. He'd read about Elvenhome – who hadn't? – and he knew that technology wouldn't work here unless it was adapted to the reishi-heavy environment. Yet, Grimmjow seemed to be working heavily with machines. That was strange.

"Oh!" Ichigo wanted to slap himself then. Of course. All the technology had to be adapted by hand, and Grimmjow was clearly one of the people who did that kind of work. "Hm." Ichigo looked through the pantry to see if there was some cereal, and was disappointed to find absolutely none. That was a bit odd. Grimmjow had said Elvenhome had been connected to America and he thought they liked cereal there.

Giving up on the thought of cereal for lunch, Ichigo opened the fridge and peered around. He was hungry, and Grimmjow wouldn't be back for a while yet. His eye was caught by a few slices of pizza in a Tupperware container. Licking his lips, he fished them out.

"I hope Grimmjow doesn't mind." He muttered. But he really didn't want to cook in a strangers' kitchen, so this was probably a good choice. Not bothering to remove it from the Tupperware, he went to the den and sat down to eat. The pizza tasted a bit odd, like there was something off about the crust, but he was too hungry to care.

With that out of the way, he quickly explored the rest of the house. There were four bedrooms upstairs. The master bedroom was tastefully decorated in cream and blue, with a very nice painting of a panther lounging on a tree branch. The bed was huge, with poofy black covers, and there was a piece of underwear hanging out of it. Ichigo blushed a little before he left that room. He didn't think Grimmjow wore bright red thong underwear.

Two of the bedrooms were furnished with basic cots, nothing more. Ichigo tilted his head, wondering if Grimmjow often had visitors. This would certainly be a good place for his friends to crash for the night. The third bedroom was a computer room, and had several bookshelves. Ichigo looked at the computer and wished he could use it, but that would be rude. This was not his home.

There was nothing much else for him to see, so he decided to check out the basement. As soon as he got down there Ichigo grinned.

"Wow!" He circled the room, whistling in appreciation. This was a gym. There was an elliptical, a rowing machine, weights, mats, and resistance bands… everything needed for a good home gym. And, to his pleasure, there were also wooden swords and padding clearly meant for practice. "Grimmjow won't mind if I use this." Ichigo rationalized to himself and began his own workout. He'd been stuck in that trunk for so long, his legs felt like jelly.

Ichigo shuddered a little at the thought of that car, throwing himself into his work. But it kept coming back, a nagging horror trying to stun his mind and destroy his spirits. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in the trunk of that car, the thirst torturing him. He'd heard voices so many times, but no one had opened the trunk, and he'd begun to think he would die there. And he knew that was what the man who'd put him there had intended. He'd worn a mask, so Ichigo had no idea of his identity. In fact, he hadn't spoken to the teenager even once.

He'd known what was going to happen, though. He'd heard the junk men talking about how the car would be scrapped. He'd heard the guy who'd bought the car – Yammy? – say that it was a bit too good for that and he had a buyer. There had been some hope then, but all the time he'd spent in transit had made him think it would be too late. Then Grimmjow had finally opened the trunk.

In retrospect, the look on his face had been hilarious. Ichigo managed to smile a little at the recollection. That nearly girlish scream had been funny, too. Or it would have been if he hadn't been so thirsty he could just die. He was incredibly thankful for the blue haired man.

It didn't hurt that Grimmjow was wonderful to look at. Ichigo blushed faintly as he worked at the rowing machine. The blue haired man was built like a god, with a physique he could only envy. And his face… Ichigo's face wasn't bad, but it was forgettable. Grimmjow's face was gorgeous, simply gorgeous. No one could ever forget that man, and heads would turn when he entered the room. The green tattoos by his eyes were just the icing on an incredibly delicious cake.

Ichigo wondered what his past was. Grimmjow didn't look much older than him, maybe twenty or twenty-five at the most, but he acted like he was experienced. Ichigo had trouble defining it, but the blue haired man's eyes were constantly moving, as if alertness was so far ingrained in him that he couldn't completely let his guard down even in his home. He reminded Ichigo of some of the men who visited his uncle. There was a potential for violence in him.

But right now, that potential was comforting. Ichigo knew that Grimmjow didn't have a single thing to do with what had happened to him. He'd just been a normal man, living his normal life, buying a normal hover car and finding something completely abnormal in the trunk. So the fact that he might be capable of violence was actually reassuring. Ichigo shuddered at the thought of what might happen to him, if that man found him again. He didn't think it would be a car trunk this time.

Finishing with his rowing, Ichigo breathed heavily before going to the weights. He was going to make this a thorough workout. He had plenty of time before Grimmjow got home, and he was still feeling week from his confinement.

He would make this count.

* * *

"Hey, Yammy." Grimmjow spoke into his cell phone as he guided his hoverbike through traffic.

Normally he wouldn't have done that. Elvenhome didn't have laws about it, because no one gave a fuck, but Grimmjow liked to stay alert. He was on a Yamaha, and too goddamn many car drivers seemed to ignore hoverbikes. The traffic laws on Elvenhome were hazy, to say the least, so it behooved him to be on his guard.

Right now, though, everyone was going nowhere fast. Some idiot had managed to jackknife his big rig all over the road, and there was beer everywhere. People were actually getting out of their cars to take a pack, and why not? Whoever cleaned off the road was just gonna throw it away. Grimmjow considered getting a case, but then discarded the impulse. It was bud light, he wasn't that desperate.

_Hey Grimmjow, what's shakin' man?_ Grimmjow grinned a little at the sounds in the background. It was early in the day, but Yammy was still partying. He always did party after a big sale.

"Nothin' much, except that car you sold me. I have a bone to pick with you, man." Grimmjow said with enjoyment, savouring the information he was about to lay on Yammy. The man replied, sounding wary.

_What d'you mean? It was a good car._

"Yeah, except for the PERSON in the trunk! Fuck, Yammy, search your cars before you sell 'em!" Grimmjow said with a laugh and grinned at the dead silence on the other end.

_Wait, you mean like a dead body? Holy shit Grimmjow, really?_ The guy sounded like he was panicking and Grimmjow grinned.

"No, not dead, would I be laughing if he was dead? I'm not that much of a psycho you know." Those who knew about his past did think he might be a psycho, though, and Grimmjow sometimes wondered if he was. "But I think you should lay low for a while Yammy." He said, his voice going serious. "There's some serious shit going on, and you bought that car legally. That means your name is on the paperwork. If someone comes after this guy the trail is gonna lead right to you." Grimmjow paused but Yammy didn't say anything. The big man was trying to think. "I might be being paranoid, but better safe than sorry, y'know?"

_Yeah… yeah… they meant for him to be crushed in the scrapyard? That's sick! I'll, um… I'll go stay with my mom's people for a while. They won't mind._ Yammy sounded spooked and Grimmjow heartily approved of his plan.

Like a lot of the people living in Elvenhome, Yammy had some not so human relatives. His moms' people were red caps. They liked living in the city – plenty of victims – and they were fucking nightmares. But they interbred with humans just fine, and kids like Yammy were the result. Strong and fast but not bright, he was a typical red cap hybrid. And unlike some, red caps had mothering instincts and valued family. No one would be winkling him out of their loving embrace.

And with Yammy safe, that cut the connection to Grimmjow. He'd paid in cash, so no electronic records. Someone searching for Ichigo would have to check out all of Yammy's buyers, which would be doable but a pain. And Grimmjow was going to scrap that car as fast as he could. He wanted it out of his home.

"Good stuff, Yammy. You be careful." Grimmjow said before hanging up and giving his full attention to his driving. He was probably being paranoid. On the other hand, someone had stuck Ichigo in a car trunk with the intention that he be crushed to death. And his parent's home had gone down in a fire, and his uncle was babbling stuff about lines being unsecured…

Maybe he wasn't being paranoid enough.

* * *

"Fucking finally! Stars and Moon, that was the worst fucking traffic on the planet!" Ichigo looked up from the book he was reading, very pleased to see Grimmjow. The blue haired man was stripping off his gloves and taking off his sword belt.

"Did you hear from my family? Can I go home?" He asked eagerly, then blinked as Grimmjow shook his head, running a hand through sweat stained blue hair.

"No, you're staying here." He said, making Ichigo's mouth drop open. "At least, maybe you're staying here, we need to discuss it. But there's been a fire at your dad's and your uncle sort of had a spaz attack when I called him. He told me to just keep you with me and hung up."

"A fire? Is my family okay?" Ichigo demanded and Grimmjow shrugged. "Grimmjow! You didn't ask?" In Ichigo's opinion that made him a bit of a dick. Grimmjow scowled.

"I didn't get a chance. Your uncle said there'd been a fire, then told me he had to go since someone might be tracking me. I sure as fuck wasn't going to call him back after that!" Grimmjow sighed as Ichigo stared at him. "I don't know what's going on with your folks, kid. But you're probably better off in Elvenhome than Japan." He said gently as the teen swallowed. "And there's nothin' you can do to help them except stay safe."

"You could do something, couldn't you?" Ichigo said quietly and Grimmjow shook his head with a laugh.

"I don't speak Japanese, kid. That'd be a bit of a handicap!" He said with a grin and Ichigo blinked as if that hadn't occurred to him. "And that brings me to my next point. Why am I feeding you exactly?" Ichigo stared at him, then looked at his hands. "I'm not kicking you out, I'm just sayin'. How old are you?"

"Uh, sixteen." Ichigo said, wondering why Grimmjow was asking. The blue haired man grinned.

"Perfect. OK, take a seat." Grimmjow finished hanging up his sword belt and took a seat on the couch, motioning for Ichigo to sit beside him. He did so, a little gingerly. "This is Elvenhome and the laws are different here. I have no idea what the age of majority is in Japan, but around here you are an adult." Ichigo's eyes widened but Grimmjow wasn't finished. "You can drink, you can drive, you can fuck." Ichigo blushed bright at that last one. "So, how are you going to pay me back for living here?" Grimmjow stared at him, a straightforward gaze that Ichigo found to be very attractive but also unnerving.

"I, uh… shouldn't I be going to school?" He said, feeling dazed as he met those brilliant blue eyes. Then he blinked as Grimmjow laughed, throwing his head back.

"School? Seriously?" Then his grin faded. "This is Elvenhome, kid. The only schools here are private ones and I am sure as hell not paying your tuition. School is done until you get back to Japan." Ichigo swallowed hard at that. He couldn't go to school here, finish his classes? That just seemed so wrong. And what about his future? He was near the top of his class, he'd been planning to be a doctor. "What kind of skills you got? Anything?"

"My dad's a doctor and I've worked at his clinic." Ichigo said tentatively, trying to think of anything else useful he could do. "Uh… I can cook and clean…" But Grimmjow shook his head.

"Cleaning is fine but I cook my own meals. I'm gluten intolerant and have a few allergies." He said and Ichigo blinked. He'd never expected Grimmjow to have allergies, but anyone could he supposed. "Anything else?" Ichigo dropped his gaze and shook his head. He felt completely worthless, and Grimmjow was right. The other man had no obligation to take care of him. He'd just been dumped on him.

"Maybe I should leave." He said, although he had no idea where he would go. Then Ichigo blinked and looked up as a hand clasped his shoulder.

"You wouldn't last a day out there." Grimmjow said with assurance, which made Ichigo winced. "And I'm not feedin' you to the wolves. Maybe you can help me with my work. And if that doesn't work out, I can always get you a spot as a dishwasher at a restaurant somewhere, eh?" He grinned and Ichigo smiled weakly. It wasn't what he'd pictured doing with his life, but if he had to, he had to. "Or see if there's any job opening at the medical centre. They ain't picky around here." That cheered him up a little. Even sweeping floors in a clinic would feel better than washing dishes. Although…

"Is it really that dangerous here?" He asked and Grimmjow nodded, glancing at the empty Tupperware container before picking it up.

"This is the bad part of town, so yeah, it really is." He said firmly and Ichigo bit his lip. "I get by because I'm a vicious bastard and everyone knows it. They stay away from me. You, though, you'd be a tender little morsel… for now anyway. I'll teach you how to make it here." Grimmjow took the Tupperware into the kitchen and dumped it into the sink. "I see you had lunch, but you had anything for supper yet?" Ichigo shook his head, his stomach growling. "Good, 'cause I ain't eaten a damned thing since breakfast. I'm gonna make us a frittata, that okay with you?"

"Sure." Ichigo watched as Grimmjow expertly broke the eggs in a skillet, adding some grated cheese, tomato, bell pepper and spinach. He smiled as the man tossed his eggy concoction in the air, neatly flipping it. "You're a good cook?" He seemed to be. Grimmjow laughed.

"Oh yeah. I love to eat, and with my allergies I don't like to eat out that often. So learnin' to cook was the way to go." Grimmjow watched his eggs as he spoke. "I'm gluten intolerant and allergic to peanuts. Always keep an epi-pen on me, just in case. That pizza you ate, it had a gluten free crust." Ichigo winced and Grimmjow just waved a hand. "Don't worry about it, just wanted to let you know why it tasted odd. I don't usually buy that gluten free processed crap, but I wanted some pizza."

"Ah." Ichigo supposed that made sense. "So you never eat bread?" He asked and Grimmjow shook his head.

"Nah. If I'm gonna eat something bad, it'll be a molten chocolate cake." Grimmjow sighed at the thought. "I'm only intolerant, not full out allergic so I can afford to be bad sometimes. I just can't eat that crap regularly or I start getting' sick. Same with beans." Grimmjow flipped the frittata out of the pan, neatly dividing it in two and scraping it onto separate plates. "Here ya go. And if you need any nibbles, feel free to dig in. I ain't cheap." Ichigo nodded, taking his plate and sampling the food. It really was good. As he ate, though, he felt a gnawing worry for his family. What had happened to them? Were they okay?

He couldn't know, and not knowing was a torment.

* * *

Grimmjow sighed to himself as he glanced into Ichigo's room, early in the morning. He was completely hidden under a soft blue blanket, except for a tuft of orange hair.

He'd gotten the kid settled into one of his guest rooms. The cots there weren't much, just meant as a place for buddies to crash when they were drunk or down on their luck. It would do for now, but he might need to get the kid something better later.

Grimmjow ran a hand through his hair, thinking. He honestly didn't need an apprentice. Taking someone on and teaching them to be a cracker was damned difficult, not surprising since they needed to master both magic and technology. Grimmjow had had a leg up when he started his apprenticeship, since his dad's family had taught him all about magic. He'd only needed to master the tech and then mesh it all together.

Ichigo would have to start from scratch. He didn't know magic and it sounded like he wasn't a mechanical expert, either. He'd know more than some kid off the streets of Elvenhome, but that was about all he could say. Grimmjow grimaced a little at the thought.

On the other hand, Ichigo was smart and he'd actually asked about going to school, so he might be a hard worker. You couldn't teach brains and you sure as hell couldn't teach a work ethic. Grimmjow smiled sourly at that thought. He'd run into some really slack ass people over the years. Of course, another thing he couldn't teach was the native ability to use the reishi in Elvenhome. He'd have to test Ichigo to see if he could do the job at all.

If he could, though, it would place him neatly under Grimmjow's eye and give him a chance to ease into Elvenhome gently. Grimmjow sighed to himself. It looked like he was going to have an apprentice.

Going downstairs, he started breakfast and decided to make something nice. He'd taken some bacon out of the freezer last night, and he quickly diced a sweet potato into tiny pieces. He fried the bacon with an onion, then added the sweet potato and a whole lot of Cajun seasoning. It took a while to fry potatoes like this, but the result was a really nice hash. He got a second frying pan out of the cupboard and fried up a few eggs to go with the hash.

Upstairs, Ichigo was woken by the smell of food. He sat up and automatically braced himself for an attack before relaxing. Isshin wasn't here, so there would be no early morning dad attacks. That thought made him bite his lip, and he went to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

By the time he was done, breakfast was served. Grimmjow set his plate on an elven warming stone, a nice little thing that kept the food warm without drying it out.

"Okay." Grimmjow drank some coffee was he watched Ichigo eat his food. He was already done, but it was nice to linger over a cup of joe. And he had his datapad, with all the latest news to serve as entertainment. "When you're done, I need to give you some aptitude tests. If you can't use magic, you can't be a cracker. End of story." He said as Ichigo looked up. The kid nodded, swallowing the sweet potato hash.

"Okay. This is good." He said with a small smile. "It reminds me of my sister's cooking." Down to earth and tasty, but not fancy. Grimmjow shrugged.

"It's pretty easy. Cut stuff up and fry it, that's my motto." He said with a grin and was pleased to hear Ichigo laugh. Then he went back to his datapad, flipping through the news as Ichigo ate. "Hrmph." He muttered as he read the details of a proposed tax on soft drinks. He didn't have much use for coca-cola and all its siblings, but apparently some people did from the rancorous tones of the comments. Then he read about a jewellery heist. It was in the good part of town, so there might be a bounty in the offing if they could figure out who did it.

The silence was warm and comfortable, and Grimmjow enjoyed having company as he sipped his coffee. When Ichigo was done, he took the kid out to his main workshop, the garage.

It was a huge garage, large enough to fit three cars comfortably and way too large for the house. The guy who'd previously owned the place had also been a cracker, and had expanded it for his work. It also had a heating system and all kinds of little doo-dads, including a fridge for the beer.

"So, it's time for some tests." Grimmjow got out a little copper collar. It was ancient, and he carefully checked to make sure it was still enchanted. Satisfied that it was, he handed it to Ichigo. "Put that on."

"Uh, sure. What is it?" Ichigo said, putting it on then tugging at the collar. It was a twisted band of metal that could be adjusted, slightly. There was a large moonstone in the front and while it was pretty, it wasn't comfortable or meant to be worn for long.

"It's kind of a barometer. The more you're sensitive to reishi the more it will… uh." Grimmjow blinked then stared as the moonstone lit up like a flashlight. "Okay. You're pretty sensitive to reishi. You can take it off now." That was impressive. It matched his own reaction to the thing perfectly, in fact. "You sure you're human?" He asked, genuinely impressed. That was the kind of reaction he'd expect from a half-breed. Ichigo scowled.

"Of course I'm human!" He said, annoyed, and Grimmjow shrugged. It was almost a formality now but he ran the other tests anyway. Every single one said that Ichigo would be strong in magic, when he got some training under his belt.

"Well, it looks like I've got an apprentice." Grimmjow was amused and slightly aghast at the thought. "We're gonna go far, kid!" He clapped Ichigo on the shoulder and grinned as the teen scowled at him.

This was going to be an interesting partnership.


	3. Living in Elvenhome

"Ugh." Ichigo groaned as he rolled out of bed. "Ouch." He stretched, wincing as he heard every joint pop and ache. He'd been with Grimmjow almost a week, and was still trying to get used to the blue haired man's insane work schedule.

Grimmjow was a late riser. He believed the best way to handle mornings was to avoid experiencing them, so Ichigo got to sleep in. But when Grimmjow got rolling, things went very, very fast. He worked quickly and efficiently, churning out work at a frightening pace, but there always seemed to be more to do. And his apprentice was expected to keep up.

Right now, Ichigo was mostly handing Grimmjow tools and being a gopher. But every day, the blue haired man took the time to explain things and give him hands on lessons of basic concepts. Ichigo was already starting to sense the power of the reishi, and learning the basics of how a hover car with a fusion plant worked.

It was stretching his brain, though, and he always felt tired. Sleeping in wasn't really sleeping in when you were up until 4 AM in the morning. Sighing, Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and went to the shower to get ready for the daily grind.

But when he went downstairs, he got a shock.

"Hey kid. You know what today is?" Grimmjow said with a grin. He had the breakfast out again, and today it was liver and onions. Not Ichigo's favorite, but there was plenty of ketchup if he wanted it.

"No, what?" He asked, getting a cup of coffee. Caffeine was a wonder drug around here. He wasn't sure if he could survive without it –

"It's the weekend!" Ichigo blinked and swallowed his coffee, staring at Grimmjow. He was grinning like a lunatic. "Three days to do whatever the hell we want!"

"What? Wait, three?" Ichigo asked, surprised. Two would make sense, but three? Grimmjow laughed.

"Yeah, there's a method to my madness. Did you think I work that hard all the time?" Grimmjow swigged his coffee and Ichigo refrained from telling him that was exactly what he'd thought. "I work like a dog for four days, then take three days off. Rinse and repeat. I think the extra day is worth it."

"Ah, I see." Ichigo ate some of his liver, thinking about it. "You've got a point." He allowed. Working twelve hour days was a lot more appealing if the reward was an extra day off. "So what are we doing to do?" He asked, hoping Grimmjow planned to take him along. He hadn't really seen anything of Elvenhome yet, except for that beautiful night sky and Grimmjow's junkyard.

"That's what I was thinking about." Grimmjow sounded thoughtful now. "I figured the first day, I could just show you around the neighborhood. It ain't bad in daylight. We could go shopping, get groceries, all that. Tomorrow, I thought maybe we could go outta town and go to one of the nature hikes. The elves have made some of the land around the city into a big park, so humans can get some nature without getting eaten by the wildlife." Ichigo looked at him sharply to see if he was joking, but he seemed to be dead serious. "Then maybe we could hit up the nightclubs and get dead drunk." Ichigo blushed at that as Grimmjow grinned. "Gonna tell me you're too young to drink again?"

"No." Ichigo said, resigned. Grimmjow had already laughed at him and insisted he try the beer. He actually liked it, but he shuddered to think what his father might say when he got home. "Just make sure you stay close to me, I've never been to a nightclub before." He knew about date rape drugs, though, and didn't want to experience one firsthand. Grimmjow grinned.

"I'll be your faithful wingman." He pledged, making Ichigo snort. "Anyway, the third day I figured we could spend getting over our hangovers and just being lazy. It's always good to have a lazy day."

"Sounds good." Except for the nightclub plans, everything sounded okay. Although he wished his dad and sisters could be here with him. Ichigo could imagine how much they would enjoy it. A sudden wave of homesickness went through him and he swallowed hard, suddenly having to hold back tears.

_When will I be able to go home?_ He asked himself as he stared into his coffee mug. _Will it be weeks, months… years?_ His uncle and dad had no idea where he was. Grimmjow was planning to call his uncle again the next time he went to Earth, but that wouldn't be for a month. Would Urahara be able to find him here? And would he have the time to do it? What exactly was going on, and who had wanted him dead? Ichigo sighed and ate some more food. He had so many questions, and so few answers.

His mood improved as soon as they left the house. The seasons weren't the same at all, so while it was winter in Japan it was spring in Elvenhome. Warm enough to be pleasant, but not too hot, the sun was high overhead in a slightly greenish sky. Ichigo blinked, glancing at the sun before looking away. It wasn't the same, of course. The sun here was a bit whiter and, he thought, a bit hotter.

The people were different too. Grimmjow lived in a very eclectic neighborhood, and Ichigo was soon enchanted by the place. Hovercars and hoverbikes were the only vehicles, since they could go above the pedestrians and the animals, which were everywhere. To his surprise, horses outnumbered the hovercars and seemed to be the preferred method of transportation. Mules and donkeys were everywhere, too, pulling carts and carrying heavy bags. The streets smelled of the dung, but little magical brushes and scoopers were constantly gathering it up. Ichigo paused to stare at an animated brush, irresistibly reminded of a Disney movie. Then he blinked and hurried to catch up to Grimmjow.

The blue haired man wasn't moving too quickly, just soaking in the sights and sounds of the city, but he still had long strides. Ichigo tapped him on the shoulder as he saw something interesting, and Grimmjow turned to look. It was a young man with strange, gauzy white wings.

"Picty cross breed. Don't stare, it's rude." Grimmjow warned and Ichigo blinked, turning his gaze away. "That ain't a good outbreeding. He probably can't fly and picties don't have a lot of magic."

"Oh." Ichigo said, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "I've never heard of a picty. I thought Elvenhome was for elves." He hadn't known there were so many strange things around. Grimmjow shook his head.

"Elves are the dominant species, but not the only one. The way the elves tell it – and they are arrogant as fuck, so if they admit this I think it's true – humans came to Elvenhome in waves. The elves are descended from the very first ones, and they've had longer to perfect themselves than all the other breeds. But in the end, all the life in this place comes back to Earth." Grimmjow glanced around at the largely human streets. "I wonder what magical creatures this city will be full of, in a thousand years." Ichigo blinked at that thought. Living in Elvenhome eventually made humans into something else? It did make sense though. Elves had a very human appearance.

Then they entered an open air market, and Ichigo abandoned that thought in favor of what was in front of him. He hadn't seen a market like this in his life. Produce stalls were everywhere, selling all kinds of vegetables. Most of them were Earth varieties, tomatoes, potatoes and everything in between. But nestled amongst the common vegetables were things Ichigo couldn't name. He blinked at something that looked like a tiny eggplant, but was a brilliant blue.

"It's a necara. Would you like to try a bit?" The woman manning the booth asked with a smile, picking up one of the fruits. Ichigo glanced at Grimmjow, who shrugged.

"I hate those things, but you can get 'em if you like." He said and the woman laughed.

"Elves always hate them." She confided in Ichigo who stared at her a moment, then snapped his gaze to Grimmjow. The blue haired man just looked over his head, his expression blank. "They're raised by the picties." She cut the fruit – or was it a vegetable? – in half, and passed one half to him. Ichigo nibbled on the firm flesh and blinked at the incredible sweetness of the pulp. It almost made his teeth hurt.

"It's good." He said, swallowing and glancing at Grimmjow. "Can we get some?"

"Sure." The blue haired man said, his hands already full of produce. Ichigo saw he was getting bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, apples and something greenish that he honestly couldn't name. It looked like some kind of cactus, bristly and flat. "Oh yeah, and this." He added a jar of clotted cream and Ichigo picked out a few of the necara. The woman took his money with a smile and Grimmjow took the bags, carrying them easily. They were fabric, and he'd brought them with him.

"You're an elf?" Ichigo said quietly as they continued exploring. Somehow, Grimmjow didn't fit his visions of what an elf should be, although he was certainly handsome enough. The blue haired man shook his head.

"Half-breed." He said briefly and Ichigo nodded. That made sense. "And I'd rather not talk about it, if that's okay." That made him blink. Why would Grimmjow be unhappy to be related to elves? Elves were… amazing. But he would respect Grimmjow's wishes, for now anyway.

"Okay." Ichigo turned his attention back to the market. There were plenty of clothing stalls, and he noticed a lot of it appeared to be Chinese in nature. And for that matter, a lot of the people living here were Chinese. "Grimmjow, was the portal ever in China?" Ichigo asked curiously and got a chuckle in return.

"Ya noticed that? Yes, the portal hung around China for five years about, oh, twenty or so years ago. And while this place sucks too much for many Americans or Australians to emigrate, China sucks too so more Chinese folks decided to come here and make a home." Grimmjow paused then shrugged. "The ones that stayed when the portal moved were too dirt poor to go. So you find 'em here now." Ichigo frowned but nodded. That made sense. The people with money would have left when they realized the portal was going to switch locations.

Ichigo noticed something odd about the prices. There were almost no electronics for sale, and the few he saw were grossly overpriced by Earth standards. Meat was also quite expensive, although vegetables were dirt cheap. Beans were somewhat middling in price. Bread was also, strangely, rather expensive. Grimmjow cleared that up quickly.

"It's because no one here raises grain." He explained as he bought some bread for Ichigo. "Elves are all gluten intolerant, and so are most of the other races. Oh, and elves are all violently allergic to peanuts." Ichigo blinked. "So if you want to piss one off, eat some peanuts before you talk to 'em."

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo couldn't help but laugh at that. "Would that piss you off?" He smiled as Grimmjow flashed him a grin.

"It would if you kissed me. Other than that, it doesn't bother me too bad. I'm not as violently allergic as an elf." He said and Ichigo nodded. "All my allergies come from bein' a half-breed, though." Then he shrugged. "But so does my knack with reishi, so it all evens out in the wash."

"Huh!" Ichigo said as he was distracted by another booth. "Oh wow." It was a vendor selling child's toys, but they were the old fashioned kind. Made by hand, out of wood, they were nearly works of art. Ichigo picked up a puppet and made it dance for a moment, smiling. The little puppet had been carved and painted to look like a lovely lady with a rose in her hair.

"You want it? It'd make a good souvenir." Grimmjow said and Ichigo blinked, looking at the man. He hadn't expected that, and he swallowed at the warmth in Grimmjow's eyes. "They ain't expensive and I bet your sisters would like it."

"If they're alive." He muttered to himself, but smiled as Grimmjow purchased the little thing for him. "Thank you Grimmjow."

"It's nothin'. Normally an apprentice would get paid, but normally an apprentice wouldn't be livin' with me either. I can buy you some stuff." He said easily and Ichigo shook his head, feeling skeptical. Most apprentices would probably be more useful than he currently was.

Their next stop was an actual store, along the edge of the market. Ichigo sneezed at the herbal odor, then blinked as he saw the racks and racks of spices. Grimmjow seemed to know what he was there for, and picked out a bottle of something that looked like cinnamon and a package of dried chili peppers. Then his phone rang. The ringtone was the tune for Favorite Things, and Grimmjow smiled as he flipped open the phone.

"Hi mom." He said as he walked out of the store, Ichigo following. "Aw, really? I'm glad you liked them. Yeah, I like chocolates too. Heh, yeah, those Reese's are the best." Ichigo blinked, then frowned. Reese's? That made no sense, Grimmjow had said he was allergic to peanuts. "Mmm hmm. She did? That's so nice of her. I bet they look great on you. Uh huh." Ichigo tuned out the conversation, but touched Grimmjow's shoulder and pointed at a display of knives and swords. The half-elf nodded, and Ichigo took that as permission to take a look. "Yeah… well, you should let her do that, you know. They just want what's best for you momma." Grimmjow's tone was so gentle that Ichigo had to look up. He was surprised that someone so tough could manage to sound like that. "Yeah, I'll come to see you next week. Sure mom, later." Grimmjow hung up the phone and Ichigo had to ask.

"That's your mom?" Grimmjow nodded, gazing at the knives. "Can I come with you? I'd like to meet her." Ichigo knew it might be a little pushy, but he really wanted to know more about Grimmjow. The man was almost a stranger to him. Grimmjow sighed, then huffed a laugh.

"I'm not going to see her, Ichigo." He said and Ichigo blinked, giving him a curious look. "She's elderly and she's got alzheimers. When she calls me, she knows I'm her son, sort of. When she sees me in person, she thinks I'm my dad and she starts screamin'." Ichigo swallowed as Grimmjow shook his head. "It's better for me to just talk to her on the phone."

"Oh. She's human?" He asked as they walked away. Grimmjow nodded. "…" Ichigo bit his lip, looking down. The stories said that elves were amazing, beautiful people who'd had a real civilization long before humans. He'd seen pictures, and they really did look incredible. Honestly, he'd believed the stories.

Perhaps he should have taken them with a grain of salt, and Ichigo wondered uneasily what Grimmjow's father had done to make his mother scream at the sight of her son.

* * *

Later the same day.

"So this is a sword. You hold it on this end." Ichigo glared at Grimmjow, who was grinning at him.

"Very funny, smartass." He groused, handling his sword with the ease of long practice. His father had taught him to handle a sword, and he'd taken fencing lessons on top of that.

"I see you think you already know a bit." The anticipatory tone immediately put Ichigo on his guard. "Why don't you show me what you know, hey?"

"Uh…" They were using wooden practice swords and they were both wearing padding. Even so, Ichigo wasn't quite that dumb. "Can I just say I know nothing?" He ventured and Grimmjow laughed.

"I see you're a smart one. Well, I won't hurt you too much then." Ichigo swallowed and took a ready position as Grimmjow moved to attack.

It didn't take long for him to realize that fencing and his dad's teaching was a bit different from the sword work of someone who'd actually used the weapon to kill. Grimmjow didn't follow any of the fencing rules he'd been taught, and he fought dirty. He pulled his blows, but it still wasn't long before Ichigo was eating dirt on the floor.

"Not bad. You have talent, but also a lot of bad habits from those damned fencing lessons." Grimmjow said and Ichigo blinked, pulling himself up. Bad habits? "There is no place for chivalry in a real fight, kid. If you get a chance you stab someone in the back. Don't give the other bastard a fair fight, this is about making him die, nothing else."

"Uh, okay." That was creepy but he could see how it would be true, especially in a place like this. And then the lesson began in earnest, Ichigo paying close attention to everything Grimmjow said and did. They worked on it for over an hour, then switched to a quick lesson on knife throwing. Ichigo found, to his surprise, that he was very accurate with the throwing knives.

"Nice Ichigo, very nice. I think those are going to be your weapons for now. Here." Grimmjow went to one wall, where some real weapons and gear were hung up. After a quick perusal, he found a chest strap with several throwing knives. "This'll do. It's adjustable and I don't use it much anymore." He helped Ichigo adjust it to fit, then stepped back with a nod. "Whenever you go out, make sure to take that with you."

"Right." Ichigo nodded. Grimmjow had taken his sword with him when they went out to buy groceries, and everyone he'd seen walking around had at least had a knife, or been with someone who did. Being armed was clearly the usual thing around here. "Grimmjow? I was wondering if I could go on your computer, check out the internet?" He wanted to see if he could send his family a message, or at least find out what had happened. Grimmjow hesitated, then shrugged.

"You can but… you realize we don't have much of an internet around here?" Ichigo gave him a curious look and Grimmjow elaborated. "The elves and the rest don't bother with it, it ain't their thing. And we sure as hell aren't connected to the Earth networks, so the internet is basically this one city." Ichigo's mouth dropped open as Grimmjow grinned. "The blogging ain't exactly top notch."

"Oh." Ichigo said, his vague ideas about finding out what had happened neatly shot out of the air. "Grimmjow, when are you going back to Earth? I really want to find out what's going on with my family." He asked and Grimmjow looked pensive for a moment.

"I hate Earth, it feels like the air is too thin." He muttered and Ichigo blinked. He'd felt that way, too, when he'd gone to a field trip in Tokyo. He'd never felt that way in Karakura town though. "I dunno. Maybe next week." Grimmjow hesitated then spoke reluctantly. "Maybe we can both go and I can do some skullduggery for a couple days, try to dig something up. You'll have to read stuff for me though." Enough people in Japan might speak English for him to get by, but not being able to read anything would be a huge handicap. And there was no way he was going to learn to read Japanese in a week. Ichigo's eyes lit up.

"Could you? That would be great!" Ichigo said happily and, to his own surprise as well as Grimmjow's, he hugged the other man. "Thank you!"

"Eh, don't thank me yet kid. Something could come up." Grimmjow cautioned him, patting him on the back. "Now, let's take a walk. I want to show you the place at night and you're all kitted up." Ichigo bit his lip and Grimmjow shot him a quick grin. "Don't worry, you're with me and I'm totally badass."

"Well, okay then." Ichigo said and followed the other man, although he did wonder. What had Grimmjow done to have such a reputation?

He probably didn't want to know.

* * *

Grimmjow breathed in the air of the wilderness parks.

Elvenhome didn't really need wilderness parks, in general. The elves and the other races farmed, but their numbers were so incredibly low that there were huge, virgin forests everywhere. The reishi made everyone less fertile, even the humans. Grimmjow knew that the more upper class inhabitants of the city often made special trips to Earth for the purpose of getting pregnant.

The only reason this park existed was the city, and 'park' in this case meant 'area free of danger'. The park wardens were tasked with keeping out the really dangerous wildlife, things like the black willow trees and the basilisks. That left a lot of moderately dangerous wildlife, but that was okay. The tourists wanted to get their money's worth.

Grimmjow smiled as he saw a huge group of Japanese tourists, their cameras all working as a unicorn sauntered out of the trees and ate a few dandelions. The beautiful beast was clearly accustomed to humans, and just gazed at them for a moment before going back to its lunch.

"Ooooh." Ichigo sounded awed as he looked at the pure white, well muscled creature. Grimmjow shook his head.

"They ain't that great. You can't domesticate them, they're just too stupid, and they'll kill calves every chance they get." Ichigo shot him a disbelieving look and Grimmjow grinned. "And don't believe that thing about a virgin being able to tame them, it's complete bullshit. Every year some tourist tries it and nearly gets gored."

"Damn. I thought I might have a crack at it." Ichigo said with a grin and Grimmjow wasn't really too surprised to find out he was a virgin. He was only sixteen, after all. They went up the trail, leaving the tour group behind.

The trail went high up, following the natural contours of the hill and giving incredible, panoramic views of the forest and the city. Ichigo paused at one of those lookout points to take a very long look at the city.

"It's not as big as Tokyo, but it's bigger than Karakura town. Grimmjow, what's it called?" He asked and Grimmjow frowned, running a hand through his hair.

"Just the city. It's the only city on the planet." He said and shrugged as Ichigo looked at him in disbelief. "Elves don't like cities, it's not how they do things. They have clan houses and some special gathering places, which are really lovely, but nothing humans would see as a city." Grimmjow smiled sourly. "There wouldn't be enough elves in this whole planet to fill up Tokyo, anyway."

"Oh." Ichigo blinked at that. This planet sounded stunningly unpopulated. He was a bit surprised no one had tried to colonize it, but then, a single elf was incredibly dangerous. And along with the other races, there were probably more than enough of them to deter any mass colonization from Earth. Not to mention that technology didn't work here. That would be a huge handicap. "Well, the forest is beautiful." Ichigo turned his attention to the forest the city was nestled in. It was a deciduous forest, full of maples, oaks and trees that weren't quite either but seemed to have sprung from similar roots. The canopy of green was verdant and full of life. If Ichigo hadn't known better, he would have thought this was Earth.

"Yeah, it sure is." Grimmjow sounded a little wistful. Ichigo wondered if he regretted living in the city, but didn't ask.

They kept hiking, and the trail got steeper and steeper, but the views became even better. Ichigo paused to watch, wide eyed, as a phoenix flew by. Apparently, they didn't actually catch fire, that was a myth caused by their incredibly vibrant coloring. The bird was the most majestic thing he had ever seen, all brilliant reds and golds.

"They're colored like that to let predators know that they're poisonous to eat." Grimmjow explained as Ichigo blinked. "They feed on insects, mostly, but they'll eat ducklings and such if they get a chance."

"I see." Ichigo sounded a little bemused, then suddenly stopped dead. "What is THAT?" He said, staring, and Grimmjow tried to see what he'd spotted.

"Wyvern. And yes, it's related to the dinosaurs." He added as Ichigo went a little bug eyed. The wyvern was a tiny type, barely bigger than a housecat and resembling a pterodactyl, except for the vicious, barbed tail. "They can get a lot bigger than that, but watch out for that tail, it's venomous." Fortunately, the wyvern wanted nothing to do with them and was flying away rapidly. "Dragons are related to the dinosaurs, too, along with basilisks and some other dangerous shit." Grimmjow knew that paleontologists sometimes made trips here to examine the closest living relatives to dinosaurs. They sometimes got eaten, too.

"Wow." Ichigo whispered, overwhelmed. "I wish dad was here, he'd love this place…" Grimmjow winced as the kid sniffed and rubbed his face, putting an arm around his shoulders. There wasn't a lot he could do besides comfort him, and Ichigo let him hold him for a moment before pulling away. "I'm fine. It just gets to me sometimes."

"Totally understandable. I felt the same way when… a long time ago." Grimmjow skipped past, grimacing to himself. There were things in his past he didn't like to mention. "C'mon, let's get moving, that tour group is catching up." Several of them had already taken his picture, which he found moderately annoying. He didn't like being an exhibit in the zoo. Ichigo smiled weakly.

"They just think you're hot, Grimmjow." He said cheerfully and Grimmjow shook his head. He was actually pretty sure some of them had spotted that he was a hybrid, but maybe Ichigo was right.

He'd give them the benefit of the doubt.


	4. A Bounty for the Panther

Author's note: I don't remember reading it, but the first part of this must have been inspired by Unexpected Baggage by Raicheru. Go check it out, it's awesome!

_We need you, Grimmjow._ Grimmjow sighed, watching Ichigo work on his first solo project. It was nothing special, just a toaster, but it was a good place to start.

"You don't need me, Harribel, you want me. There is a fucking difference." Grimmjow smiled as he watched Ichigo puzzling over exactly how to make the magical connections. He was working hard at figuring it out. "What's wrong with Ulquiorra? Or Zommari? They could both do it."

_Ulquiorra is gone, hunting a lupine. He'll be gone for weeks, and we don't have weeks. Zommari is dead._ That made Grimmjow lift his eyebrows. _He was poisoned. It appears to be a personal matter._

"Sweet, I couldn't stand that shithead." Grimmjow said callously. "Fine, what about Starrk?"

_We tried. His aura still shatters the baboa, and no one else has the power necessary. Please, Grimmjow, I am authorized to give a special bonus._ Grimmjow grimaced. He liked the thought of the money. This kind of job always paid really, really well. But it could take some time to complete, and he'd have to leave Ichigo alone for that time, unless he could arrange someone to stay at his place.

"Maybe… look, Harribel, I need to talk to someone about this. D'you mind me calling you back in a bit?" He asked and she readily assented, sensing he was weakening. "Thanks."

_No, thank you Grimmjow._ Grimmjow sighed, hanging up the phone and looking at Ichigo. He was plugging in the toaster. To the teen's shock and horror, the appliance promptly exploded. Grimmjow just coughed, waving away the smoke. He'd actually been expecting that.

"You got too much power running through it. It was a good first try, though." He said as Ichigo looked stricken. "Hey, don't take it so hard, it's just a toaster. There's no market for them anyway." That reassured him a little and Grimmjow frowned. "Look… I just got a call from an old contact. They want me to do a job, but I'd have to leave you alone for a couple days. Is that okay with you?" Last he'd heard, Yammy was still lying low. That was good sense and Grimmjow figured the big guy would give it a month before he ventured out again. A month would be plenty of time for anything bad to blow over. So Ichigo was probably safe for now.

"What kind of job?" Ichigo asked and Grimmjow grimaced. He would ask that.

"My kind of job." He said shortly and Ichigo scowled at him. "Don't ask questions, kid. You don't want the answers."

"Hmph. Well, I'll be fine." Ichigo snapped and Grimmjow hesitated a moment as the teen started cleaning up his mess. Then he snarled at himself. He didn't need to hold Ichigo's hand, and his past just wasn't the kid's business.

The real reason he was refusing to answer wasn't because he was ashamed, or even because he didn't want Ichigo to know. It was because the teen kept prying about his background. Grimmjow supposed it made sense. Ichigo was completely dependent on him, and Grimmjow was a stranger. The teen wanted to know what made him tick.

But he didn't appreciate it. He had way, way too many unpleasant memories, way too many skeletons in the closet. He just didn't want to talk about it. Who the hell would want to talk about things like that?

And soon, he would be adding to the store of things he didn't like to talk about. But it wasn't just the money. In good conscience, he couldn't turn down Harribel's job, not if it'd take Ulquiorra weeks to show up.

"She needs to get more talent on the payroll." He muttered as he went to fetch his gear, flipping open his phone. "Harribel? We're on. Where should I meet you?"

_Down by the transport district. I have the exact address._ Grimmjow noted it down as she rattled it off. _Look for the police tape, the usual._

"Yeah, I know." Grimmjow muttered. The transport district? That was a bit… arrogant. People went through there all the time and the police took care of that area, since they couldn't afford to have any of the shipments from Earth disrupted. A bad, bad place to flaunt a kill. But some people thought they were above the rules. "I'll be there soon, if the traffic ain't too bad. Can I use my cop light?"

_Yes, go ahead. You still have the badge._ Grimmjow nodded, putting on his armor. His badge was on the left breast, bright and shiny. But the whole armor was capable of going camouflage, including the badge, so it was no problem when he had to get busy. _Meet you there._

"Later Harribel." Grimmjow went to get his bike and immediately headed out.

Traffic was backed up as soon as he hit one of the highways leading to the gate. Despite the absolutely huge roads leading away from the gate, and the mammoth nature of the gate itself, traffic was always snarled. It was just the nature of the beast. At least this time, the portal had manifested in an area people actually went. Grimmjow remembered the year the damned thing had managed to show up in the Himalayas. They'd all gotten way too dependent on the elves that year, and that was never a good thing. Then he grinned. The Japanese government had nearly had a cow when the portal had opened right on a major thoroughfare. Fortunately, there'd been plenty of warning for the cars to stop, but getting the road clear had been… interesting. Then completely blocking off the road and building a work around had been even more interesting. All for something that would be gone in a year.

But Japan could just suck it, in Grimmjow's opinion. Bitch bitch, whine whine, but they had an exclusive market for at least a year. He knew the Japanese economy was spiking from it all, not to mention the extra tourism. The US of A was pretty pissed they'd lost the portal, but that was just the way the cookie crumbled. The diviners had known it was going to be a big leap this time, so they'd had plenty of warning.

Grimmjow hoped the portal kicked around Japan for a while. He was interested in the culture, and if the damn thing left in a year, well… he'd never see Ichigo again. There was no way in hell he was ever leaving Elvenhome. He was too magical to survive on Earth, not long term. He'd once tried to go on a Caribbean cruise for a week and by the end of it, he'd been sick and starting to look old. Reishi was what kept the elves young, and it seemed he was too elven to be any exception.

Grimmjow sighed and turned on his cop light and siren, then began violating Elvenhome's already lax traffic laws. Cars tried to give him a bit of room, but he still kept an eye out for idiots. Dodging through traffic, he finally found his turnoff and began nearing the scene of the crime.

It wasn't hard to spot. There was enough police tape to wrap up a mummy. Grimmjow grimaced, pulling over and shutting off his siren. That thing was annoying as hell on a hoverbike, but the light itself just wasn't enough. There were cops keeping away the gawkers, but they took one look at him and let him in. They knew who he was, what he was here for, and not a single one of them would shed a tear for his prey.

Harribel was there, wearing her usual, impeccably tailored white pantsuit. She wasn't a cop, she was the head dispatcher for the bounty hunters. For low level shit, she just put it on the bounty board and let nature take its course, but for things like this she required her agents to come to her. The body was still there and Grimmjow glanced it over, his eyes hard.

Once upon a time, it had been a young girl. From the looks of it, she'd been raped and tortured extensively. A signature V had been carved into her shoulder, and Grimmjow scowled. He knew this guy. This killer had been taking out whores in the bad part of town for a while, but his activities had been too low key to merit special attention. He was getting bolder, and he'd gone too far with this one.

"She was someone important?" Grimmjow asked casually. The location was bad, but that might not be enough to call him in. In Elvenhome, justice was for the rich. Harribel nodded.

"She was a tourist, and she was kidnapped at night in the entertainment district." She said and Grimmjow winced. That was bad juju and might seriously hamper the tourist industry for a while.

"Yeah, well, there are some street whores who will be happy now." Grimmjow said with a slightly brittle smile. "Lay it on me." Harribel nodded, holding out a hand and concentrating a moment. She was a banshee hybrid, one of the best and strongest outcrossings. And one of the few who could summon the baboa.

The baboa was a nasty, stupid little spirit. Attracted to death and pain, they congregated around serial killers, enjoying the vibrations they threw off. Harribel had control over many, many baboa's and when the police identified a serial killer, she took the time to take her little pets to the scene of the crime. Each of her baboa had the scent of a separate killer, the imprint of his psychic aura and even, sometimes, a physical description. As long as the serial killer kept preying on the people no one cared about, though, the bounty hunters didn't get called in. But it seemed like serial killers always had to go too far, had to take some tourist or some schoolkid waiting for a bus. Then the hammer would fall.

Grimmjow held still as the baboa oozed over his face. He hated this. He hated letting the little monster into his mind, into his aura, but there was no choice. The baboa looked like a dirty white mist, and it tasted like cotton balls dipped in machine oil. Grimacing, he carefully opened himself and received what the creature had to give.

_Taste of blood, screams, hysterical voices pleading for mercy. Laughter, cutting, pleasure from the pain. Aura that feels like banana/sandalwood/rotting flesh. Brown hair and brown eyes, handsome face, talking to women._ Grimmjow hissed out a breath as he locked onto the aura. A lot of the information the baboa was giving him was superfluous, stuff that turned the spirit on, but what he needed was the aura. With that, he could go bloodhound and bring this guy down.

This time, it was going to be easy. This killer had been at it long enough to pick up the rotting flesh stench, and that was unusual. It meant he was hosting not just baboa's, but also a legion, a nasty collection of evil spirits. They wouldn't help him at all though, physically. They wouldn't even want to. The spirits would feast on his death before going to find another host who would slake their lust for blood.

"I've got him. I'll bring you his head for the girl's family to piss on." He promised with a cold, vicious grin and Harribel returned it with an equally cold smile. She'd been a bounty hunter, once. She appreciated the crudities.

"Excellent. We'll see if they want it. I still have some very nice boxes." Her face got a little dreamy at the thought, and Grimmjow knew she wasn't kidding.

If the family wanted this fucker's head, they would get it in a box with a bow on.

* * *

Ichigo sighed, reading a book.

Without Grimmjow to instruct him there wasn't much to do. He'd worked on a new toaster, reasoning that Grimmjow wouldn't mind if it was broken, and actually managed to crack it. He'd even made himself some toast. He'd also used Grimmjow's gym a lot, and even gone for a walk in the neighborhood. In broad daylight and with his throwing knives, he didn't think it was very dangerous.

But now it was the next day and Grimmjow still wasn't home. Ichigo couldn't help but worry. What would happen to him if something happened to his protector? He bit his lip, thinking about it. He'd have to try to go home, but what would he be going home to?

Then he heard the rattle of a key in the door and looked up sharply.

"Grimmjow!" He set the book down and ran to the other man, ready to impulsively hug him. But then he stopped short. "You're… covered in blood." He said, his gorge rising. The black leather armor was liberally splattered with blood, although under it he could see something glittery on the left side of his chest.

"Yeah, the fucker was a bleeder." Grimmjow raked a hand through his hair and Ichigo swallowed as he saw there were thin lines of dried blood there. "And he tried to run like a pussy. Help me out of this, will ya?" Ichigo forced back his nausea and, after a moment's hesitation, reached out to help undo the buckles. "Thanks. And in case you're wondering, it was a legal kill." Ichigo looked up, eyes wide at that and Grimmjow gave him a tired grin. "And that's all I want to say about it."

"Uh, okay." He said, completely unnerved. Legal kill? What did that mean? But if Grimmjow didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to pry. And he got a shock as he helped Grimmjow out of his breastplate and saw the glittery thing was something akin to a police badge. It was differently designed, but he was pretty sure of the purpose.

_Grimmjow is a police officer? No… he can't be… _Grimmjow was a cracker, and this was some kind of special job, so he obviously wasn't actually with the police. Ichigo couldn't help but puzzle it over as he retreated to the den. Grimmjow was getting out some kind of special cleaner and going to the sink to clean off his armor.

"Grimmjow? Do you mind if I use your computer?" He finally asked and the blue haired man grunted.

"Go ahead." He said and Ichigo went upstairs. Logging onto the computer – Grimmjow's password was smurfy, which always made him giggle – He began to check out Elvenhome's version of yahoo answers.

Elvenhome really had a miniscule online community, compared to Earth. It was actually pretty sad. Only the rich, or those who were at least doing okay, like Grimmjow, could afford a cracked computer. Not to mention the fee the ISP charged – there was only one provider, they had a monopoly - which was simply out of this world. So the online community wasn't just only the city, it was maybe a quarter of the city, if that. From a computer geek's perspective, this place was a wasteland.

But they did have some things, like the forum he was visiting. Typing up a post, he expected he would get a reply rather quickly. This was one of the most heavily trafficked forums in Elvenhome, called Elvenbase, short for database. It was used by tourists, especially, to get answers to pressing questions.

_I was just wondering… I'm staying with someone I don't know well, and he just came home covered in blood and said he'd made a legal kill. Does anyone know what that means? How can a kill be legal? Thanks!_ Ichigo posted his note and grabbed a book to kill time. Fifteen minutes later he hit refresh and saw he had three replies.

_Sounds like a bounty hunter. They bring in criminals for the cops, sometimes alive sometimes dead._

_Yeah, what he said._

_He must be a bounty hunter. They work intimately with the police to catch certain criminals, especially serial killers and gang members who intrude on the safe locations. They also bring in people alive for questioning, things like that. If you want to know more you could check out the tutorial on how to become a bounty hunter and the bounty board at… _What followed was a very short and simple URL that led to the Elvenhome government website. Ichigo perused it with shock and a bit of horror. The government here sent out people with a license to kill, literally? Out of morbid curiosity, he checked out the bounty board. There were physical descriptions of criminals, names and all kinds of notes about their crimes and habits. At least half of them were alive only, so if the bounty hunter killed them they would get no reward and possibly a removal from the bounty program. The other half… a quarter were alive or dead, and the rest were wanted dead. Not all the criminals were human, either. There was a bounty out on a particularly nasty picty who'd been robbing banks and shooting tellers. Ichigo bit his lip before leaving the bounty board and turning off the computer. He wasn't sure what to think of this, but he was sure of one thing.

Grimmjow was a dangerous man.

* * *

"Yo. This is Grimmjow's house of oral sex and cake, how can I pleasure you today?" Grimmjow answered the phone as he stretched out in his tub, feeling lazy and relaxed. It had been days since his bounty trip, and the reward had been worth the effort. He'd prepaid his mom's nursing home for three months, which was always a relief. A nursing home in Elvenhome was _damned_ expensive. He'd seriously considered having her moved to America, but then he wouldn't be able to call her anymore, except maybe once a month. And his mom really did enjoy hearing his voice, and getting the little treats he had delivered to her. It just made her day, getting a box of chocolates or a bouquet of flowers.

_Hey Grimm, it's Yammy. I've got bad news._ Grimmjow frowned, his pleasure suddenly gone. Yammy did not sound happy at all. _Two guys showed up at my place. They broke in looking for me, but the red caps caught 'em. I didn't ask them t' look after the place, they just decided to do it._ Grimmjow blinked, a little surprised. Staking out a place was a novel idea for a red cap. _Anyway, I thought you should know… they're employed by some guy named Juha Bach from Japan. Apparently he's some kind of big wig there, or at least his men think so. You ever heard of him?_

"Nope. Let me guess, the red caps weren't impressed?" Grimmjow sniggered at the thought and Yammy laughed.

_Nah. Although the second guy was pretty impressed when they cut out his buddies tongue and ate it in front of him._ Grimmjow winced a little, because he could easily picture it. He'd seen what red caps did to their victims. _They sent the guy who still has a tongue back to Japan with a message to fuck off and die, but who knows if he'll listen._

"Yeah." Grimmjow was pretty sure he wouldn't listen, as it happened. Every time the portal shifted locations, something like this happened. Elvenhome had its own underworld, its own version of the mafia. But it was a lot fucking different from anything on Earth, mainly because of all the supernatural elements. Not to mention that this place was effectively a dictatorship. The Elvenhome syndicates knew there were certain places they could not go, certain things they could not do without risking the wrath of the current tyrant. That guy had all the cops and all the bounty hunters at his disposal. And the dictator could also call in the elves, although he would pay for it if he did. But elven assassins were the deadliest in the world and could be even more vicious than red caps. No one wanted to play ball with the dictator in charge.

Of course, all that went out the window when some dumbass from Earth tried to horn in on Elvenhome. Grimmjow sighed to himself, remembering a literal war that had broken out the first year the portal moved to the United States. That had been ugly and the dictator had put down the riots with brutal efficiency. Grimmjow himself had taken a part in that, joining the rest of the bounty hunters on an extermination operation. He had no idea how many he'd killed that day, so they weren't in his official kill total, but that was fine. He didn't really take pride in how many people he'd sent on, unlike some bounty hunters.

"Well, it's not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for telling me Yammy." Grimmjow said sincerely. He really did appreciate the heads up.

_No problem man. Those guys were gonna kill me after they got their information, so I owe you._ Yammy said seriously and Grimmjow grinned.

"Well, if I need to stash the kid somewhere maybe you can put in a good word with your relatives." He said, mostly joking. He wasn't going to tempt the red caps with someone as young and powerful as Ichigo. And even if they behaved themselves, just living with them would probably scar the teen for life. Yammy laughed at that. "Later Yammy."

_Later Grimm._ Grimmjow hung up the phone and took his time, finishing his bath. When he was done, he went to look for Ichigo.

The teen was sitting by a window, looking out at the stars in the sky. That weird expression that Grimmjow had come to identify as homesickness was on his face, and he tapped the kid on the shoulder, breaking him out of his trance.

"You okay?" He asked and Ichigo gave him a wan smile before nodding. "Have you ever heard of someone named Juha Bach?"

"Huh? No. Why?" Ichigo asked and Grimmjow sighed. This wasn't going to make the kid sleep any easier.

"Because the guy who sold me the car you were in got a visit from some guys working for him." Ichigo went pale at that. "They were planning to kill him after they got the information they wanted. Unfortunately for them, they were caught by his family. The one that still can talk was sent back as a message." Grimmjow wasn't stupid, and he knew red caps, so he knew that his tongue was probably about the only thing that guy had kept. It would be an emphatic message. "I don't know if that'll scare him off or just make him cleverer, but…" Grimmjow shrugged. "It looks like whatever is going on isn't over." Ichigo swallowed hard.

"Are we still going to go to Japan?" He asked and Grimmjow thought about it for a long moment.

"Yeah, but I'll have to take some steps." Grimmjow grinned wickedly. This was where it helped, being a bounty hunter. "I've got contacts, they'll see we get through customs without leaving a trace." Harribel owed him a favor for taking on that serial killer when he really didn't have to. She'd come through for him. Ichigo looked relieved. "And if there's any physical stakeout, they'll take care of it." The Elvenhome authorities didn't like it when that sort of thing went on anyway. They'd be happy to take care of it.

If this Bach guy wasn't careful, he'd learn exactly who had jurisdiction in Elvenhome.


	5. Relics and Butt Plugs

It was two days later that Ichigo killed his first man.

It shouldn't have been necessary. It was broad daylight, and Grimmjow had sent him on an errand. Ichigo frowned as he consulted the small sheet of paper in his hand. The instructions were detailed, but not really that hard to follow.

"Bee's Bath Solutions. Okay." His task was to buy soap, hair care products and bubble bath. With him using Grimmjow's supply, it was starting to get low. Ichigo also had permission to buy whatever he wanted for himself. The teen smiled at that thought. He really liked Grimmjow's bubble bath and wanted some for himself. Maybe something with a lilac scent?

It took a while, and Ichigo had to punch someone who tried to pick pocket him, but he finally reached the store. It was a large place, and very rustic in style. The wooden floorboards creaked as he went inside and began looking for Grimmjow's favorite brands. He'd specified them by name on his note.

Fortunately, with the names it was quite easy. No one offered to help him, which was no surprise. There were only two women working, one behind the cash and the other clearly looking for shoplifters. She was carrying a wooden club, too, so Ichigo suspected the penalties would be severe. Fortunately, he wasn't there to steal so he picked out everything he needed and brought it to the register without incident. The woman behind used the machine – it was an ancient version, nothing electronic, so it worked just fine – took his money and gave him his change. Ichigo was careful to count it. Grimmjow had told him not to trust anyone to give him correct change.

And sure enough, it was off by a dollar. She immediately gave him the extra dollar, though, and Ichigo just sighed to himself. The teller didn't even seem ashamed at her attempt at graft. Shrugging, he put his change into his purse and tucked it into his clothes. All the clothes Grimmjow had given him had pockets sewn on the inside, designed to make pick pocketing very difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.

Taking the fabric bag of items, Ichigo left the store. He carried the bag in his left hand, deliberately leaving his right free to grasp his throwing knives. Grimmjow had specifically mentioned that, although he'd also said that if he was using both hands, just dropping the bags would work. It just wasn't quite as fast and that could really matter in a fight.

Ichigo cut through a back alley and was quite surprised when a boy ran past him and tried to snatch his bag out of his hand. But he had a good grip on it and punched the other teen in the side. The kid swore and turned on him and Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw the glint of metal.

"Fuck!" He swung the bag, letting the teen snare his knife on the solid fabric. His opponent swore and tried to drag the knife out, but Ichigo flipped out a throwing knife and threw it in one smooth move.

It went into the base of the teen's throat, and he went down in a spray of blood. Ichigo stared, frozen for a moment. He'd acted without hesitating, without the slightest pause, and now this kid was dead, or soon to be dead.

_Don't give the other bastard a fair fight. This is about making him die, nothing else._ The memory of Grimmjow's voice steadied him. This guy would have killed him, that was obvious from the way he'd gone after Ichigo with his knife. He had nothing to be ashamed of. Grimacing, Ichigo retrieved the throwing knife from the corpse and cleaned it off on the fallen man's clothing before sheathing it. Then he hurried on his way.

"Good, you're back. I need you to – " Grimmjow glanced up from his table and blinked. "Hey Ichigo, what happened?" Ichigo glanced down and saw the front of his shirt was speckled with blood. It wasn't a lot, the spray had mostly gone in a different direction, but it was there. "You alright?" Grimmjow's hands were on his shoulders then as the blue haired man looked him over for damage. Ichigo shook his head.

"I'm fine." He said, settling down the bag. "Some guy tried to steal our stuff, then pulled a knife. I – I got him with a throwing knife." Ichigo swallowed, remembering the splash of blood. He didn't regret it, but he didn't think that memory would ever be going away.

"Ah." Grimmjow nodded. "I'll get you a beer." He said, with a kind of rough sympathy. Ichigo nodded. He was getting used to drinking and he could actually use a beer right now. The beers were a Japanese brand that Ichigo didn't recognize, but they tasted excellent. The two of them drank in silence for a while before Grimmjow finally spoke. "Having your murder cherry get popped hurts, I hear." Ichigo almost choked on his beer.

"Grimmjow!" He couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't a comparison he would have made, but it was pretty apt for how he was feeling at the moment. "Did it bother you, the first time?" He asked quietly, hoping he was prying too much. Grimmjow took a deep swig of his beer and shrugged.

"The first time I killed a person? Nah. But I hated my dad with the fire of a thousand suns, so it probably didn't count." Grimmjow smiled, a touch sadly, as Ichigo blinked. "Now, the first time I killed a deer, that bothered me. The poor thing was just so damn pretty and it never harmed me none. But I needed to eat, so I needed to kill. Just the way the world is."

"Oh." Ichigo wanted to ask why he hated his father, but he couldn't. It had to be something horrible. "Thanks Grimm. I feel better." He was surprised to find that that was true. The beer helped, but also the conversation. He couldn't compare that guy to an innocent deer, but at least what he was feeling was normal. And he already knew that killing would become easier. Although he never wanted it to be too easy.

He still planned to be a doctor someday. Throwing knives would not be his tools forever.

* * *

A few days later.

_I've arranged everything for you, Grimmjow. But when you get back, can I ask you for a favor?_ Grimmjow blinked, sitting back in the cab. His hoverbike was a one person only ride, and he wasn't going to leave the thing at the gate anyway, so he and Ichigo were enjoying the smoky ambience of a taxi.

"Like I would say yes to that without some more information, Harribel." Grimmjow said dryly. "Lay it on me. What do you need?" He wasn't too keen on more bounty hunting jobs. Sure, the money was good, but he enjoyed being a cracker. And he'd changed jobs right when his mom started getting sick. If he died and her bills started going unpaid, she'd end up in the streets. And then she'd die, sooner rather than later. There wasn't much charity for the sick, in Elvenhome.

_Aizen has decided to do a general cleaning of our serial killer population. _Harribel sounded anticipatory and Grimmjow froze for a moment. _And you and Ulquiorra are the only ones who can use the baboa. I need you, Grimmjow. And you like making those kind of kills, don't you?_ She said and his eyes narrowed.

"Don't try to analyze me, Harribel." He snarled. Her remark annoyed him because she was dead on the money. Grimmjow loved taking down serial killers, although it still left a bitter taste in his mouth. "I'll see what I can do when I get back. How many are we talking, here?"

_At least five, maybe closer to eight. It's been a while._ She commented and Grimmjow hissed softly in irritation. _I'll be counting on you Grimmjow. Don't get killed in Japan._

"I'll do my best." He said dryly and she laughed. "Later Harribel." Grimmjow hung up the phone and glanced at Ichigo, who was watching him curiously. "You look so weird with black hair." He commented and the former redhead gave him a scowl.

"Oh shut up. You don't make a very good blonde." The teen said and Grimmjow reached up, grinning as he touched his magically dyed curls.

"You're just jealous of my good looks and charm." Grimmjow said easily as he sat back. The hair jobs were magical in nature, and maintained by their innate reishi. They would stick around as long as he and Ichigo weren't drastically weakened. Also, Grimmjow was hiding the marks on his face. Ichigo looked like he might even fit in, although Grimmjow was so Nordic that he'd still be distinctive. Pale blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes, who could miss that? But at least it wasn't as distinctive as blue hair. That had been his father's gene manipulation of himself, so it wasn't even a common color for elves, let alone humans.

"Keep dreaming Grimmjow." Ichigo said before looking out the window of the cab, and Grimmjow smiled to himself. The kid was growing some balls. Not that he'd been a wimp to start with, but he hadn't been as confident as he was now. But maybe that was no surprise. Getting locked in the trunk of a car for three days would probably shake a lot of confidence.

They finally reached the gate and the cab pulled over into the designated taxi turn around. The place was packed, no surprise. They both got out and Ichigo got his first good look at the gate.

"Oh my god Grimmjow. How big is it?" He asked, stunned, as he stared at the monster in front of him. There were entire buildings built in front of it, where people would enter then walk directly through the gate after they finished with customs. But the majority of the gate was taken up with the biggest series of roads ever conceived of by man.

"About a mile across." Grimmjow said and had the pleasure of seeing Ichigo's jaw drop. "You shoulda seen what happened the one time this thing opened in the middle of a city. Good times." Grimmjow sniggered as he remembered. That had been easy for this city, but for the other one it had practically been a natural disaster. Fortunately, the opening gate gave plenty of warning so the buildings in the way had been evacuated. The gate bisected anything it touched, when it was opening.

"Does it ever open in the ocean?" Ichigo asked curiously as they both walked towards the customs building. Grimmjow shook his head.

"Nah. It used to, back when both sides of the gate went wandering." Grimmjow knew, from elven history, that until they had nailed this side of the portal down it had wandered just as regularly as the Earth terminus. That was why Elvenhome had species of fish that were clearly Earth in origin. It also had stuff that was related to extinct fish, which could be scary as hell. Grimmjow had never seen the ocean and didn't want to, if half the stories he'd heard about it were accurate. "C'mon, we don't want to keep Harribel's goons waiting." He speeded his steps a bit and Ichigo hurried to stay beside him. It didn't take long for them to enter the customs house.

It was huge, and was a lot like airport security. Although with a twist. There were little kiosks where tourists could buy the essentials, like disposable cameras, sunscreen, pepper spray and swords. Grimmjow grinned a bit at the swords. He knew a lot of the tourists would think of them as souvenirs, but the people selling them were thinking more along the lines of self-defence implements. The quality wasn't too bad. Pepper spray was probably better for a tourist, though.

Grimmjow went to a special line. There was no fuss, nothing obviously different about this line, but a carefully designed repulsion kept anyone unauthorized away from it. Grimmjow had to take Ichigo's hand to get him through, and the teen was very reluctant to come closer. But as soon as they got in the line he blinked, frowning as though he'd just come out of a trance. Grimmjow ignored that in favor of the woman at the front of the line. He recognized the hair.

"Hey Nel." He said casually as he reached her. "Good to see ya. Still running errands for Harribel?" The beautiful woman with the long green hair smiled at him, then transferred it to Ichigo. Her smile warmed and Grimmjow expected to see some sweaty palms from the teen. That look had melted much older men. But to his surprise, Ichigo just smiled back in a friendly sort of way.

"It's a living, Grimmy. You have something for me?" She held out a hand and Grimmjow undid his belt, pulling off his sword. Ichigo shrugged out of his bandolier and passed that over, too. "Thanks. Here's your chit, and yours. They'll be kept safe for you." She said with another very warm smile, her gaze lingering on Ichigo. He didn't even seem to notice.

"Thanks Nel." He said briefly and that was that. No paperwork, no computer, nothing. As far as records were concerned, he and Ichigo had never been here. No cameras to catch them either, and there was a rental hovercar waiting for them outside. "Harribel thinks of everything." Grimmjow said as he put the vehicle into gear. He knew exactly where he was going. He had a map. "Hey, Ichigo, you're the navigator." Grimmjow tossed over the map he'd gotten from that car he'd bought, and Ichigo unfurled it.

"Well, just follow this road out…" Ichigo began looking over the map as Grimmjow got them into traffic. The traffic leading out of Elvenhome was just as heavy as the traffic leading in, so Ichigo had plenty of time to get them directions.

It took them nearly three hours to reach Karakura town, counting the stop they made for munchies and bathroom. The hovercar's fusion pile didn't need refueling, not for years, and it was a specialized procedure anyway. Grimmjow held strictly to the speed limit and tried to observe the traffic laws, mainly because he didn't want to get stopped. Elvenhome drivers were kind of notorious, and he didn't want to end up in jail for something really stupid.

Karakura town, though, was a surprise. Grimmjow took a deep breath as he stepped out of the car, just taking in the air. It was rich and thick, just like Elvenhome.

"High reishi spot." He muttered, quietly amazed. This place would be a haven for supernatural creatures stranded on Earth. Was Ichigo actually human? Even if both his parents thought they were human, there was a decent chance something supernatural had climbed into his family tree. "Huh." Dismissing the thought, Grimmjow smiled. Their disguises would be no problem here, and he carefully formed a ball of reishi in his hand before dispelling it. "Oh yeah." The one thing he was worried about was the lack of weapons. Swords and throwing knives just weren't legal in Japan, and not that easy to hide either. A gun might be more legal, if he could get a permit, but Grimmjow actually knew shit about guns. He'd never fired one in his life.

Now, though, he had a weapon. Pure magic wasn't something he used often – he usually used it to augment his swordwork – but in this reishi rich environment, he certainly could use it. And he was capable enough with it, even if it wasn't his preferred style. Breathing into his palm, he set up a ward around himself and a second around Ichigo. It wouldn't be foolproof, but non-magical weapons would tend to bounce off it. It might protect them from a bullet.

"What was that?" Ichigo said, frowning as he looked down at himself. He'd felt the reishi Grimmjow had just used. Grimmjow shrugged.

"A ward. You should stay here." He said firmly. He was okay at sneaking into places and Ichigo was just a kid. But the teen scowled.

"Not a chance. What if you run into my uncle? He doesn't know you from a hole in the ground." He said and Grimmjow paused. That was a powerful argument.

"Alright. But let me take the lead." He said, giving in. Ichigo nodded and they both walked to the shop. They'd parked several blocks away, to help with any watchers.

And they didn't enter the front door. Not that they could. They walked past the store, and Grimmjow gave it an uninterested glance. At least, it looked that way. He was actually keenly interested, especially in the boarded up windows. The place was definitely closed and looked like it might have been shot up, not that he was any judge of that.

"What are we going to do if it's abandoned?" Ichigo said softly and Grimmjow sighed before shrugging.

"Try to google this Bach guy and figure out what's going on." Was the best he had. He was good at tracking criminals through Elvenhome, but he had contacts there. "But I'm hoping we can find a relic." Ichigo made a confused sound and Grimmjow elaborated. "Something that belongs to your uncle. If I get my paws on a relic, I can use it to try an' track him. That's one of my best powers, you know. I'm a fucking bloodhound."

"Oh. I bet that was useful as a bounty hunter." Ichigo said and Grimmjow grinned widely.

"You have no idea, kid." He said and grinned even more as Ichigo scowled.

"Don't call me that – oh!" He exclaimed as Grimmjow slipped into the shadows, moving silently through an alleyway. Ichigo tried to emulate him, and soon they were at the back of the shop. The door there wasn't boarded up, but there were wards. Grimmjow muttered as he began to very carefully penetrate them. Ichigo watched and observed, fascinated. With the training he'd gotten he could sense what Grimmjow was doing.

"There." He thought he'd clipped a pretty good hole in the wards, but subtly enough that the person who'd created them wouldn't notice. Although he wasn't entirely sure of that. As a bounty hunter, he'd always been a more frontal assault kind of guy, rather than an assassin like Ulquiorra. And he'd never moonlighted as an actual assassin. His mama had made him promise not to, a long time ago.

The store itself, though, was a mess. Merchandise was scattered all over the place, when he reached the front room, and Grimmjow looked through it curiously. He picked up something that claimed to be a fruit drink and cracked it open, taking a cautious swig.

"Not bad." He murmured, transferring the drink to his offhand before continuing his search. He was trying to find anything personal, anything with an aura he could use. But the search was not going well at all. "Hmm." It seemed like someone had anticipated this and sterilized the place. If he'd been in Elvenhome, Grimmjow would have expected that. People on the run from the cops didn't leave relics just lying around, they knew there were people like him out there. It was part of what made the game fun. He hadn't expected it on Earth though. "But this place does have wards." He reminded himself. Ichigo's uncle had to have some talent and training to make that work.

"Grimmjow? Would this work?" Grimmjow looked up, surprised, as Ichigo entered the room. He was holding… what? "It's, um, a toy of his." Ichigo blushed as Grimmjow took in the butt plug. "I found them when I was a kid by accident so I, uh, knew about the secret drawer in the cabinet." Grimmjow sniggered to himself but took the toy.

"If he used it, this should be perfect." That kind of activity would leave a really strong imprint. Sure enough, he quickly got a reading. "Okay. He's nowhere near here. Let's go." He didn't really think there was much else to find at the shop. Although… "Here, carry this." To Ichigo's surprise, Grimmjow went shopping in the fallen merchandise. There were bags at the till, too, so soon Ichigo was holding a bag of canned tuna and salmon. "This shit is so expensive in Elvenhome."

"Grimmjow, you're a thief." Ichigo said, both irritated and amused, and Grimmjow grinned.

"How d'you think I made it as a kid? Scrounging for food, this feels like old times." Although they were mostly times he'd prefer to forget. Not having enough food really, really sucked, and the time there had been an actual famine had made him rather food conscious. So Grimmjow wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like this. Particularly when it came to salmon. Fish wasn't readily available in Elvenhome, but he knew it was very good for his health.

Grimmjow clipped another hole in the wards and they left, sneaking back through the shadows. They were both completely oblivious to two people arriving at the store only perhaps ten minutes after they left.

"Hmm." A man with short, silvery hair knelt and sniffed the wards. Grimmjow had left a small reside of power when he'd broken in. A real assassin might have avoided that, but he simply didn't have the training and inclination for such fussy work. He was the tracker, and he usually did not have to cover his tracks. "Powerful, but not an aura I know."

"Bach must have recruited some talent." The man with him would have made Grimmjow joke that he had a starfish attached to his head. It was actually a carefully shaped afro. "I don't recognize it either, but it feels elven to me. Is there enough for a trace, Kensei?"

"No." He shook his head before opening the wards and stepping inside. "Let's see if we can figure out what Bach's agent was up to." But they didn't find much of anything except some obviously missing tins of salmon and tune. "…That's strange." Professional assassins and trackers usually did not take the time to steal food.

"You don't suppose this is just a coincidence?" The man with the afro ventured. "There's enough magical beings in town who might know how to penetrate a ward, and it's been a week. Someone might have decided the risk was worth the reward."

"For salmon?" Kensei looked at the trash bin and saw a freshly opened can of fruit juice, completely empty. "And juice?" Although it wasn't technically juice, more of a carbonated fizzy drink. "This is weird, Love." He thought he was looking at the work of an amateur, although they'd gotten through the wards easily. But taking food like this, well, it just wasn't professional. Not for his profession anyway. Love shrugged.

"Let's keep looking." But as far as they could find, nothing but the food was missing. "Strange. Let's go report to Urahara, he'll want to know about this." They were still on high alert. Things had gone relatively well for them in the last battle, but everyone knew it wasn't over.

"Right." Kensei was in charge, but Love was right. There was nothing more for them to learn here.

They completely missed the missing butt plug. Urahara had been a bit too embarrassed to tell his subordinates about the secret compartment in the cabinet. And it was a very good compartment, too, keyed to only open to someone with the same genetic signature as himself… like, for example, a young Ichigo Kurosaki. Bach's men hadn't found it at all.

But neither did Kensei and Love, so they were oblivious to the fact that the intruder had discovered a relic and would be coming to visit them soon.


	6. Great Balls of Fire

The first thing they had to do after discovering the relic, though, was rent a hotel room.

It had taken a long, long time to get through Elvenhome traffic and then reach Karakura town. But that wasn't the worst problem. The real issue was the time differential. Elvenhome had a completely different day length, longer than Earth's. The cycles of the two worlds simply didn't match in any way, not season or time. Right now, the time difference was about seven hours. It was like getting an instant case of jet lag.

So even though it was only mid-afternoon in Karakura town, Grimmjow and Ichigo both needed to rest. It wouldn't help them adjust, but they weren't going to be spending more than three days on Earth. It made better sense to just stick with Elvenhome cycles. Besides, when they woke up it would be very early in the morning. That would be perfect for sneaking around and breaking into things.

So they grabbed a bit of food at a local fast food place, Ichigo placing the order in Japanese and specifying that there had to be No Peanuts. Grimmjow couldn't read the menu, either, so he had to read it for the man. The place served various bowls, and Ichigo ordered a teriyaki beef one while Grimmjow got the seafood medley in curry sauce.

"This is pretty good." Grimmjow said as he ate his food. "I love curries. Hot food is big in Elvenhome."

"Is it? I hadn't noticed." Ichigo said, swallowing his beef. It was good too, although not great. But he wasn't going to complain for the price. "But then, we don't eat out much." It was a waste of money and with Grimmjow's allergies, potentially hazardous. Grimmjow swallowed a mouthful of curry.

"I'll have to take you to a good place sometime, when I've saved up a bit o' pay. There's a Joel Robuchon restaurant in Elvenhome, y'know. Really snazzy and caters to the muckety mucks who run things… it costs a good three hundred a person." Ichigo looked at him sharply, wondering if he was joking. "And that's not the most expensive tasting menu, and it's not including booze."

"What, really? And people pay that?" He said wonderingly as Grimmjow grinned and nodded. "Well, you don't have to take me there. It sounds way too fancy." Ichigo had been to some nice places, but that sounded potentially embarrassing. Grimmjow shrugged.

"You shouldn't worry about fancy places. I asked a server once, at a place like that, what fork should I use? And he said, with the price you're paying you can use any fork you want." Grimmjow grinned as Ichigo frowned. "It's different if someone else is paying for it, but if you are you call the shots."

"You would be paying for it." Ichigo pointed out. "Although I guess you don't know which fork to use either." He said, amused. He wouldn't have to worry about embarrassing Grimmjow, he was shameless anyway.

"Damn right!" Grimmjow said, perversely proud of his inability. "Want to try some curry?"

"Sure." They both sampled each other's' plates, enjoying the different flavors. By the time they were done, Ichigo was stifling a yawn on the back of his hand. "Ugh. So tired." He muttered, blinking heavily. Grimmjow nodded.

"Me too." Fortunately, they'd already checked in at the hotel and left the hovercar there. They'd just walked over to the fast food place, and they walked back. Ichigo was feeling a little more alert when they got to their room, both of them carrying their bags. "Shit, what the hell?" Grimmjow muttered as they stepped inside. "I said two Queen's."

"Huh?" Ichigo looked past him and saw there was only one King sized bed. "Oh." That made him blush, but… "I don't mind." He said quietly, setting down his bag. In fact, it made him think of things he'd been firmly repressing.

Namely, how attractive Grimmjow was. Ichigo snuck a glance at the currently blonde man as he set his bag on the floor and squatted down beside it, fishing out his toothbrush and toothpaste. Ichigo did the same, and waited patiently for Grimmjow to finish in the bathroom before taking his turn. But he couldn't help but steal a glance out as Grimmjow changed his clothes. His pale skin was beautiful, but marked with dozens of old scars, including thick, heavy ones on his back. Then he lost sight of the marks as Grimmjow pulled on his pajamas. They were dark blue and looked comfortably soft.

Rinsing out his mouth, Ichigo went to find his own pajamas. They were actually just a pair of old sweat pants, stolen from Grimmjow's closet, and a t-shirt. It was all very baggy but that was perfect for sleeping. Ichigo slipped into the bed beside Grimmjow, pausing a moment to look at the half-elf. Grimmjow was already lying on his side, his eyes closed, but he wasn't asleep yet.

"Grimmjow?" Ichigo said softly and he opened his eyes, glancing over. "You know, we're two fugitives on the run in a cheap hotel. If this was a movie, I think I know what would come next." Grimmjow blinked and Ichigo blushed, but held his gaze. He wanted the half-elf, he really did, and this was the ideal time to approach him.

"If this were a movie, you'd be a blonde with huge boobs, Kurosaki." Ichigo's heart plummeted at those words, and he swallowed. He'd thought Grimmjow was interested in him, but if he was wrong – then he gasped as the other man sat up, and a strong hand gripped his chin. "But I've never been into blondes." Then warm, demanding lips were pressed against his.

It was his first kiss, and Ichigo just tried to go with the flow, obediently opening his mouth as Grimmjow flicked his lips with his tongue. Then Grimmjow's tongue was inside his mouth and Ichigo went with him, their tongues dueling in an intimate battle. When he came back to himself, the teen found he was firmly within Grimmjow's arms, pressed against the plush blue pajamas. He tangled a hand in the fabric, finding it was just as soft as it looked.

"Before we do this, there's something you gotta know Ichigo." Grimmjow said seriously and Ichigo whined. He had a hard on now, and wanted to get rid of his virginity with this incredibly handsome man. He didn't want something to spoil the mood. "I'm a half-elf. I don't know if you've thought about it, but that means I am a helluva lot older than I look."

"…" Ichigo blinked. He really hadn't thought about it, he'd assumed Grimmjow was only twenty-five. Although now that the other man mentioned it, he realized that had to be wrong. His mother was in a nursing home with Alzheimers, and it probably wasn't early onset. On the other hand… "I don't care if you're old enough to be my grandpa. Please, Grimmjow, I want you." That made the other man chuckle and Ichigo swallowed hard as warm hands gripped the bottom of his t-shirt, pulling it up and exploring his skin.

"Shit, I probably am." Grimmjow said with a grin before descending on his neck. Ichigo moaned softly as teeth came into play, gently nipping sensitive skin. "You taste good, Kurosaki." Grimmjow murmured and Ichigo looked down, meeting intense, lustful blue eyes. Then the half-elf was pulling his shirt up and Ichigo raised his arms, helping him get rid of the fabric. "And you look even better." Ichigo blushed faintly as Grimmjow's gaze ran over him appreciatively. Then he began undoing the buttons of his pajama top and Ichigo swallowed as he slowly pulled the fabric away. Then the teen gasped.

"Grimmjow, what happened?" Ichigo said softly, resting a hand on his chest. There was a wide, thick scar there. The elven man grimaced, then shrugged slightly.

"My dad didn't go down without a fight." Ichigo swallowed, meeting blue eyes again. There was something dark and painful there. "But fuck that. I wasn't much older'n you when that happened. Let's do this." Ichigo let the other man distract him from the painful topic, moaning softly as Grimmjow pressed him down and began exploring his body.

Every touch seemed to set him on fire, and Ichigo returned them a little awkwardly, still figuring out what to do. But Grimmjow knew, he knew exactly what to do and was more than willing to demonstrate. Somewhere in the haze of lust and pleasure, their pants vanished and Ichigo arched as a something warm and wet closed over his aching erection. A hand rested on his belly, holding him in place as that heat and suction tormented him with pleasure.

"Grimmjow." Ichigo moaned, burying his hands in silky hair. "Grimmjow!" The pleasure was skyrocketing and his hips bucked just as Grimmjow clamped down on his base, hard. "Ah!" Ichigo whimpered as his release was stifled, trying to thrust into that wonderful feeling. But then Grimmjow was pulling away, licking his lips and grinning.

"You liked that, Ichi?" He said teasingly as the teen panted, trying to get his breath back. "That's just the start." Grimmjow licked his fingers, coating the digits in saliva before reaching behind him. Ichigo's breath caught in his throat as a single finger began invading him. It felt strange and wrong, and he whimpered softly as he held himself still. He trusted Grimmjow. It would get better. "Shh. Just relax. Shit, you're tight." Grimmjow muttered to himself, carefully rotating that single finger, trying to stretch him. "You gotta relax Ichigo." Ichigo took a deep breath and nodded, trying to relax into that foreign feeling. He was just managing to get used to it when Grimmjow added a second finger.

"Owww." Ichigo whimpered softly. It didn't feel good at all, but he tried to stay relaxed. Then Grimmjow's fingers brushed something inside him that made him jump. "Ah?!" He made a small, needy sound as his erection, which had gone a bit limp, suddenly came back. "Ohhh." Ichigo moaned as Grimmjow sought out that spot, running his fingers over the sensitive nub of flesh.

"That's called your prostate. Feels good, huh?" Grimmjow said with a grin and Ichigo could only nod. It felt wonderful, marvelous, as good as Grimmjow's mouth on his cock had felt. "Now…" Ichigo bit his lip as a third finger joined the first two, stretching him uncomfortably wide. But he needed it if Grimmjow was going to take him.

And Ichigo was worried about that. He could feel Grimmjow's erection against his leg, and it felt big. Stealing a glance down, he swallowed hard. He was no real judge of other men's penises, but it looked very big. How was that going to fit, even with everything Grimmjow was doing?

But Grimmjow didn't seem to doubt that it would. Ichigo took a deep, shuddering breath as the fingers were pulled away and Grimmjow lined up his cock with his ass. Then he gasped as the other man began to slowly thrust in.

"Ah!" Ichigo whimpered as the head pushed past that taunt ring of muscle. "Grimmjow… ah…!" It hurt, it really hurt, but Grimmjow wasn't stopping. He was being slow and careful, though, giving Ichigo time to get used to the intrusion. The teen was whimpering softly as the half-elf gently stroked his hair, fully seated in his body.

"Shh. Just relax Ichigo. Just relax." Grimmjow whispered in his ear, then captured his lips for a gentle kiss. Ichigo tried to obey, feeling the coiled tension in the man over him. He could tell Grimmjow was struggling to control himself and not thrust into the tight heat around his cock. "Better? I – uh…" Grimmjow grunted, losing his struggle. Ichigo gasped in pain as the other man began to move.

But then the large, thick length inside him found that spot again. Ichigo was electrified, and his pleasure only increased as Grimmjow hit it again and again. Then a large, callused hand was around his cock, stroking him with every thrust.

"Nngh… so good… Grimm!" Ichigo cried out, overwhelmed by the sensations. It felt amazing. He'd never imagined anything could feel this good.

"So… fucking tight, Ichigo…" Grimmjow's voice was nearly as undone as his own and Ichigo moaned as he was pulled into another deep, searching kiss. "Mmm…" Their tongues met again and Ichigo yielded, letting Grimmjow control the kiss, his mind hazy with pleasure. "Moon and Stars…" Brown eyes met blue, then Grimmjow licked his cheek, reminding Ichigo of a big cat. Then the pleasure wiped any coherent thought from his mind.

"H-Harder, ah, Grimmjow! Please!" Ichigo wasn't even sure what he was begging for, just that he wanted more. And Grimmjow gave him more, gripping his hips and pulling them up a little to deepen the penetration. "Nnngh, AH!" He almost climaxed, but Grimmjow clamped the base of his erection again. "Grimmjow!" He whimpered and the man over him chuckled softly.

"Damn… kid… don't be too… eager…" Ichigo panted, coming down a bit as the strokes continued, just teasing his prostate now instead of hitting it dead on. Grimmjow's hand went back to stroking him then and Ichigo panted, looking up at Grimmjow through lust hazed eyes. Tiny droplets of sweat were beading on pale skin, and he gently licked them away from Grimmjow's chest, moaning softly as the thrusts became even more hard and firm.

"Oh god Grimmjow please… please…" Ichigo cried out as his prostate was struck again. "Please!" He knew what he wanted now, he wanted to cum, he wanted to release the fire in his loins. The pleasure was driving him out of his mind and he wanted it more than anything. Grimmjow speeded his thrusts, driving him closer and closer to the edge.

This time, there was no hand on his base to stop him, just harder and firmer strokes of his straining erection. Ichigo released, his cum flowing over Grimmjow's hand and splattering over his own belly. His whole body tightened as he cried out, and he felt Grimmjow stiffening. The other man's voice joined his, a duet of pure pleasure. Ichigo gasped as he felt the pulses of Grimmjow's release, felt the hot seed inside him. It felt strange yet… good.

They stayed together for a long moment, neither one wanting to move. But then Ichigo wiggled slightly, trying to convey the fact that Grimmjow was rather heavy. The half-elf chuckled softly, bringing himself up to his elbows and slowly pulling away. Ichigo whined softly at the empty feeling, then sighed as Grimmjow lay down beside him and put an arm across his chest.

"That was great, Ichigo. That was really great." Grimmjow said sleepily and Ichigo smiled, warmed by the praise. "You ever want to do that again, just let me know."

"I think you can count on that." Ichigo said softly, curling up against his first lover. "Grimmjow, I – I like you a lot." He couldn't say love, not yet, not to a man he'd only known for a matter of weeks. But he liked Grimmjow. He liked everything about him, his devotion to his work, his love for his mother, even his sometimes hot temper and the way he liked to go to the nightclubs and dance the night away. But did Grimmjow feel the same way about him? Ichigo blushed as warm lips brushed against his cheek.

"I like you too, Ichigo. You're just so damned cute." Ichigo wasn't sure he liked being called cute, but he decided it was okay, especially when Grimmjow used that tone. "Go to sleep. We have a long night ahead of us." Ichigo smiled slightly, curling up next to Grimmjow.

He could not be more content.

* * *

Grimmjow yawned, stretching slightly as he heard the shower running. He felt well rested and very satisfied. A smug smile crossed his face as he remembered why.

_Damn, that was nice._ He replayed every moment of it in his mind, feeling his cock twitch at the memories. But he didn't let that get out of hand. The chances Kurosaki would want another round so soon after the first were somewhere between slim and none. Grimmjow wouldn't ask him for more anyway. He knew the kid had to be sore, he was pretty damn big down there.

Grimmjow was glad Ichigo had come onto him. If he hadn't, he wasn't sure he'd have ever made the first move. It was just that the kid was so young. Sixteen might be legal in Elvenhome, but it was jailbait in Japan. And he was definitely old enough to be Ichigo's grandpa. A scary thought and one that made him glad he'd never had kids. If he'd had a son older than Ichigo, that would have just been wrong.

But Ichigo had made the first move, and Grimmjow didn't feel the least bit guilty for taking him up on it. He wasn't dumb enough to think things would go according to plan, and this wasn't Elvenhome. Guns made things so interesting. Although even in Elvenhome, there were arrows and crossbows. But unless they were heavily enchanted, he could sense them coming and stop them. It was a hell of a lot harder to sense a bullet. And if Ichigo happened to end up taking a bullet, Grimmjow didn't want him to die a virgin.

Shaking aside those morbid thoughts, he noticed the sounds of running water had stopped. Pulling himself out of bed, he yawned and scratched the back of his head. Ichigo left the bathroom, a towel around his waist, and Grimmjow quietly admired the water beading on his chest. The teen was shivering, though.

"This place doesn't seem to have any hot water." He said and Grimmjow grimaced.

"Great." He hated cold showers. On the other hand, given the way his mind was wandering maybe he needed one. "Justa sec." It wouldn't be long, that was for sure. Making use of the little jars of shampoo, Grimmjow quickly washed himself in water so cold, it brought goose bumps to his arms. "Fuck!" He cursed as he used the soap. When he was satisfied with his basic cleanliness, he bolted out of the shower and grabbed a towel. "This place sucks." He muttered. The bed was only okay, the room was tiny and this shower absolutely reeked.

"Well, it is the cheapest hotel in Karakura town." Ichigo had heard his complaining, not surprising since he hadn't bothered to close the door. Grimacing, Grimmjow looped the towel around his waist and left the bathroom.

"Yeah, you get what you pay for and all that. Oh well, a cold shower won't kill me." Grimmjow quickly got dressed before taking a look at himself in the mirror over the vanity. His shirt was a dark blue sweater, appropriate for Japan in the winter. Ichigo had a dark, rusty colored sweater. Grimmjow had picked the colors deliberately when they were packing. They'd both blend into the dark well, especially when they put on the balaclava's he'd also packed.

Of course, that was for when they reached their goal. Unless you lived in Canada or Russia, wearing a balaclava made you look like a robber. Grimmjow grinned at the thought. In its trip over North America, the portal had made one pit stop in Canada before hitting Japan. Manitoba sucked in the winter.

"This'll be tricky." Grimmjow muttered as he put the hovercar into gear. "I'm gonna be wandering a lot." He cautioned Ichigo, who sat back with a sigh.

"More time for my ass to get better." He just said and Grimmjow choked, then laughed.

"Sorry about that." He wasn't at all surprised the kid was feeling it. Ichigo just gave him a content smile that warmed him down to his toes. Then Grimmjow turned his attention to the road, smiling.

He did have to wander a lot, his hand occasionally dropping to the relic sitting in the cup holder beside him. In Elvenhome, he'd have done most of this on foot. But he knew the streets of Elvenhome, and most of his work happened in the rough neighborhoods which were close to his home. He wasn't willing to wander a strange city on foot, especially when he had no idea how far it was.

Grimmjow finally had the feeling he was getting close. The relic – he preferred not to think of what it really was – was tingling in his hand. He found a public lot to park in and poked Ichigo, who yawned and blinked his eyes. The kid had been napping, curled up in his nice warm sweater in a nice warm car.

"We're really close. It's legwork now." Grimmjow told him and he nodded, getting out of the car easily. Apparently the extra rest had done him some good. Grimmjow took the balaclavas with them, tucked into his belt. They weren't going to wear them just yet. "I wish I had a sword." The lack made him feel naked.

"It wouldn't do that much good against a gun anyway." Ichigo said and Grimmjow nodded ruefully. "Um… what will we do if someone tries to shoot us?" He asked, uncertainly. Grimmjow shrugged.

"Run like hell?" That was his best plan. Although… "Or just surrender. I mean, this is your uncle right? We want to meet him." Grimmjow wasn't sure they should use the balaclava's at all. Although there was a decent chance his uncle might not recognize Ichigo at first without the neon orange hair.

"What if he's being held prisoner?" Ichigo asked softly and Grimmjow stopped dead. He hadn't even considered that possibility.

"Then… let's try not to get caught." He finally said. They needed to scope out the situation before they decided what to do. "Shit. I wish I were a real assassin." He mumbled to himself. Ulquiorra would know what to do in a situation like this. Of course, Ulqui was a cold blooded asshole who'd take money to off anyone, provided he could get away with it. Grimmjow's mama would have spit on him if he'd tried to use his skills that way. She hadn't fought so hard to raise him to have him turn into a monster, just like dear old dad. Pushing away the recollections, Grimmjow dipped his hand into his pocket to finger the relic. It was nearly burning to his touch and he could sense the aura attached to it close by. "Okay."

The building it led them to was an ancient, condemned warehouse. Grimmjow and Ichigo ducked into an alleyway nearby to don their balaclava. Grimmjow used his magic to help conceal them as they got closer to the building and hoped it would be enough. He wasn't confident at all.

Which was a good thing, because they'd already been spotted.

"Who are these two? Besides total amateurs." Shinji shook his head sadly, carefully concealing himself as he spied on the two people climbing the wall. They were aiming for an open window and were actually doing rather well. If they'd been ordinary sneak thieves, they'd have seemed almost competent. But for someone trying to infiltrate their headquarters, well…

"Not that amateurish, Shinji. They found our hideout." Hiyori sounded less than amused as she watched her superior, who was still spying on the two intruders. "Well? Are we just gonna scratch our asses while they break in?"

"Actually, sort of. I think we should observe them and see what they're up to." Shinji grinned and Hiyori rolled her eyes. This was not her style at all. "And when we make our move, remember, take them alive. I want to know where Bach dug up an elf from." The power felt pure elven to him, not even a half-breed. It was just too strong, even with the intruder doing everything he could to hide it from them.

"Ya, ya. Do you mind if I hurt them?" She asked, bored, and Shinji shook his head with a laugh. He didn't care at all if some of Bach's agents were left bleeding. "Great. Let's go."

Grimmjow and Ichigo, meanwhile, were slowly making their way down the warehouse. It wasn't that easy. The building was almost gutted, nothing but a ruin, and Grimmjow had to use way too much magic to get them down. If something here could sense it he'd probably be picked up, but there wasn't much else to be done. He hadn't brought any rappelling gear.

"My uncle is here? Are you sure?" Ichigo was appalled by the condition of the place but Grimmjow nodded.

"My guess is some kind of secret basement underneath all this trash." He said quietly, glancing around. He was getting an itchy feeling that said they were being watched. He couldn't spot anyone, though.

One thing Grimmjow did know was hidden entrances. He'd had to sniff those out on many occasions, and it took a while but he finally found this one. Shifting a bit of fallen stone out of the way, he reached for the rope on the trap door –

Ichigo's gasp alerted him and he moved like the wind. There was a crack of a pistol and his ward flared bright blue for a moment, deflecting the bullet before he raised his hand and snapped out a bit of power. The non-magical gun had no defense, and disintegrated at the very strong bit of disruption magic. The girl holding it cursed and dropped the pieces as Grimmjow went after her with his bare hands and magic.

It was a nasty fight. The girl with the yellow pigtails looked like a child, but Grimmjow instantly identified her as an oni hybrid. She didn't look much like the red skinned oni, but the power he could sense in her was distinctive. It made him wonder why he hadn't sensed it before. Oni were not known for their subtlety, but they were powerful fighters.

But she wasn't anywhere near as good as him. Grimmjow tore into her, forming his magic into a blue knife. Blood sprayed across the wall after he slashed her arm from elbow to shoulder. She snarled, and attacked him in fury. Grimmjow took advantage of her anger, dodging easily and tripping her before kneeing her in the temple. The little girl when down and he lifted his leg to finish her with a blow to the neck –

"Stop, or your companion dies." Grimmjow froze, glancing up to see a man with blonde hair. He had an arm around Ichigo's throat, choking the boy and holding him still. There was a gun pressed firmly to Ichigo's temple. Grimmjow swallowed as magic filled the air. This guy… he wasn't sure what type of breed he was, but he was strong. Grimmjow might be able to break his gun before he got the shot off, but he might not, too. He carefully lowered his leg then laced his hands over his head. The little girl groaned, shaking off her daze and giving him a hard glare.

"HNGH!" Grimmjow's breath left him as a hard little fist slammed into his balls. He doubled over in agony before sliding to the floor, gripping his manhood.

"Hiyori!" The other guy sounded amused and appalled. "That was completely unnecessary." He scolded the girl, who just stomped on him, making Grimmjow groan. "Enough!" He said sharply and the oni girl left off her revenge, scowling.

"That bastard was going to kill me!" She snarled and Shinji grinned.

"Yes, I noticed that. He's a much better fighter than he is an infiltrator. Get his mask off, will you?" He said, still keeping his gun at the head of the man in his arms. A man who was shaking like a leaf, he noticed. "Calm down, we're not going to kill you. Yet." He said, but that only increased the trembling. "Che." Shinji sighed to himself. They were dealing with amateurs. Hiyori easily stripped the balaclava off Grimmjow and Shinji just looked at him before he shrugged. "No one I know. Do this one." Hiyori nodded and walked over, yanking the balaclava off an unresisting Ichigo.

"Never seen him before either. Let's get them to the boss, he'll know what to do." Hiyori said indifferently and Shinji nodded.

Shinji kept his gun on the black haired man, who was clearly the lesser threat of the two. He had a very powerful aura, as strong as the blonde man, but it felt very flat and one-dimensional, a tip off that the owner was young and untrained. The elven aura of the other man had the richness Shinji associated with age and strength. Hiyori snapped magically reinforced handcuffs onto the blonde and forced him to his feet. The way he walked made Shinji snicker. The poor bastard was in serious pain from that punch.

It took a bit, but they got the menagerie moving and down the stairs. Shinji spared a glance to the man in his arms. Brown eyes were wide and terrified, and he vaguely wondered how old he was. It was hard to judge the age of hybrids, but it was possible he was just a spiritually powerful human. If that was the case, he was a teenager. And given how good they were at this, Shinji had to admit that it was a possibility.

"Hey boss!" Hiyori danced into the rec room, grinning. Her wounds were already beginning to heal, a property of her oni blood, and she didn't much care about the pain. "We caught some intruders." She gestured behind her and the blonde man shuffled in, casting one backward glance at his companion. Shinji met his eyes calmly, seeing the frustrated fury in electric blue. Then he shoved the gun a bit more firmly against the smaller man's head. The big guy got the message and walked into the room, still a bit hunched over. Shinji followed silently, forcing the boy ahead of him.

Everyone in the room got a huge shock at what happened next.

"Uncle?" The man in Shinji's arms gasped at the sight of the man at the table, calmly sipping his tea. A white and green hat was pushed back as astonished eyes beheld someone he'd given up for dead.

"Ichigo?!" Urahara stood up so quickly he almost knocked over his tea. "Shinji, let him go at once!" Shinji hastily let go of the boy as Hiyori's mouth dropped open. "Oh my god, Ichigo, where have you been?" Urahara ran to his nephew, hugging him tightly to his chest. Ichigo hugged him back, tears starting to build in his eyes. "We thought you were dead!"

"I'm fine, Uncle, but Grimmjow is hurt." Ichigo said and Urahara's eyes went to the other stranger in the room. Grimmjow could see from the cool calculation in them that Ichigo's uncle wasn't sure if he was a friend. But he smiled and patted his nephew on the back.

"We'll take care of him, Ichigo. Shinji, Hiyori, take him to the recovery room." He instructed and Ichigo bit his lip before turning to catch Grimmjow's eyes. Grimmjow just shrugged, glancing around warily. He had no idea what was going on or how much danger he was in, but he'd just brought home their wandering teenager. That had to count for something, right?

He hoped it did, anyway, and just limped along as they took him out of the room. He heard Urahara speaking to Ichigo and figured they would get the full story out of the teen. He could rest for a while.

His balls were on fire anyway.


	7. Saying Goodbye is Hard to Do

Grimmjow was lying on a cot when Urahara came to see him.

Fortunately, after a rather embarrassing examination the girl, Lisa, had told him that his testicles were intact and did not appear to be suffering any serious trauma. She gave him some aspirin for the pain, and a bit of ice to help with the swelling. That was already helping, although he didn't want to walk just yet.

Grimmjow glanced up as Urahara pulled up a chair to sit beside him. The blonde man, Shinji, was standing against the wall along with a guy with silver hair. They were all looking at him intently.

"I have many questions for you, and the first is quite urgent. How did you find us?" Urahara asked and Grimmjow sighed before fishing the relic out of his pocket and tossing it to the man. Ichigo's uncle looked at the object in his hand, slowly turning red as everyone stared in silence.

"Ichigo knew about your secret cabinet." Grimmjow said as Lisa broke into giggles and the silver haired guy covered his face with one hand. Shinji was grinning widely. "By the way, you can keep that, I feel dirty just touchin' it." Urahara coughed lightly before quickly stuffing the offending object in a pocket.

"Boss? What cabinet is this? We can't afford to have relics flying around. Bach might not have much talent now, but with Elvenhome here he can always hire some." The silver haired guy was sounding pissed. Urahara sighed, looking down.

"I'll have to take care of it myself. You can't open the cabinet. Well, now that that question is out of the way… What is your name?" Urahara asked and Grimmjow sniggered before answering.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez." He said but, to his surprise, Urahara shook his head. "What?"

"You're an elf. I want your real name." He said and that made the half-elf stiffen in surprise and also, deep offense. Although Ichigo's uncle couldn't know why that question rubbed him the wrong way, so he tried to stay civil.

"I'm a half-elf and Jaegerjaquez is my mama's name. My dad's people can go fuck themselves." He said with a growl and Urahara frowned as Shinji lifted an eyebrow.

"Y'don't feel like a half-elf at all." Shinji said, a bit amused. "And I'm pretty experienced at this sort of thing. You feel like a full on elf. Why would that be?" Grimmjow took a deep breath and let it out slowly. They were managing to really push his buttons now.

"Because no elven woman would've fucked my dad if he was the last elf in Elvenhome." Grimmjow snapped. "So when he knew he'd seeded a poor human whore, he did gene manipulation on the fetus to make a little clone of himself. There, you happy?" Grimmjow glared at the other man, who looked taken aback. "And I'm not giving you my elven name. I won the Triple Blade, and I won the right to be my own man."

"Triple Blade?" The silver haired guy questioned as Urahara frowned and Shinji looked impressed.

"It's an elven trial by combat." Urahara explained, not taking his gaze from Grimmjow. "And the only way an elf can challenge a ruling by the clan elders. But I did not think half-elves were allowed to participate in such rituals." He made that last statement a question and Grimmjow sighed.

"I already told you. Dad gene manipulated me so I'd be an elf. I'm technically a half-elf, but he made my elven side completely dominant. I might even live as long as an elf." Grimmjow explained. "He did that so I could be his heir. When I reached eighteen, they had a meeting of the elders to decide if a half-elf could be given clan privileges. When they decided I could, I called for the Triple Blade." He'd gone this far, he might as well explain it all. "I needed to get my mama out of there. He'd have killed her if I hadn't." His father had been willing to accept that his son needed his mother while he was a child, but as soon as he'd gotten clan privileges that small protection would have been gone. Grimmjow knew exactly what would have happened then. Urahara was expressionless but Shinji and the other guy looked a bit appalled.

"Isn't the Triple Blade a duel to the death with three challengers, back to back?" Shinji asked. Grimmjow nodded. "And you won? Incredible."

"I got this scar on my chest, but yeah, I won." Grimmjow remembered howling his defiance over his father's dead body, the blood streaming from his chest as the fire of destruction filled his veins. He wasn't exactly proud of it, mainly because of his own feelings. He'd enjoyed that way, way too much. "And so I was rejected from the clan, my name wiped from any records. As far as the elves are concerned, I don't exist and that's the way I want it." He hated them all. They'd known what his father was and hadn't done a thing to help his mama, even when he begged them. As far as they were concerned, humans were trash.

"You fought to be rejected from the elven clan. Huh." Shinji didn't say anymore, just pondering it.

"We thought Ichigo was dead, you know." Urahara said, taking back the conversation. Grimmjow shot him a questioning look. "After you called, we used a relic to try to find him and couldn't get anything. We thought your call was some kind of trick. Elvenhome didn't occur to us."

"Well, it hasn't been here long." The portal had only been in place for a couple of months. He wasn't surprised they'd overlooked that possibility. "So what about the kids' family? They alright?"

"They're fine, but that's all you need to know." Urahara said and Grimmjow blinked at him. "If you're going back to Elvenhome, you don't need to be involved in our business."

"However, if you'd like to stay we'd have a spot for you." Shinji said cheerfully. "You're absolute crap at sneaking into places but really excellent at handing out a beating. Quite like Hiyori, in fact, only better."

"Hey!" There was a muffled yell from somewhere and Grimmjow cringed a little, feeling a twinge in his balls. He didn't want that oni girl anywhere near him at the moment.

"What kind of operation is this, anyway? And how'd you get on the bad side of this Bach guy?" He asked. They knew a lot about him now, but he knew almost nothing about them. Urahara pushed back his hat, thinking for a moment.

"We're called the Visored. Japan is our base of operations, because of the high reishi environment of Karakura town. But we're actually mercenaries." Urahara explained as Grimmjow nodded. Elvenhome didn't really have many groups of mercenaries like this, mainly because the city was just too small for them to find enough big jobs. Lone operators and pairs were more the rule there. But with all of Earth to work with, it would be different for these guys. "I have something that condenses the reishi here, so we can use our magic even outside Karakura town." Grimmjow blinked, wondering what that something was. There were a lot of hybrids that would love to know. "We normally take contracts outside of Japan, where what we do is legal or at least, not prosecuted. We really had no conflict with Bach until recently. But when the portal to Elvenhome appeared, he tried to recruit us. We weren't interested in spearheading a campaign in Elvenhome."

"Good decision. The last group that tried got flayed alive, the few who survived." Grimmjow said and Shinji winced as Urahara smiled, waving a fan.

"Yes, we know. We seriously considered it but after doing our homework, we decided that trying to go against Aizen would be a slow form of suicide. Also, Bach is rather notorious for getting rid of people he no longer has a use for. Not the kind of employer we enjoy. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer." Urahara sighed. "And I'm afraid he has a bit of a grudge against me and Ichigo's family. I wonder if the offer to employ us was just an excuse, but we'll never know for certain."

"Huh." Grimmjow shrugged. He wouldn't know either way. "Well, I appreciate the offer but I have a business in Elvenhome. A house, a scrapyard, the works." He wasn't interested in moving to Karakura town. Although Ichigo would probably be staying. That hurt a little, but he'd always known it couldn't work, not in the long term anyway. They were from different worlds, in the most literal sense.

"I'm Kensei." The silver haired guy suddenly said. "I wonder. Urahara, do you think we could maybe relocate to Elvenhome?" Urahara and Shinji both looked at him and he shrugged. "I know it will be inconvenient in a lot of ways, but it might be safer."

"Would there be any work for a mercenary company there?" Shinji wondered and Grimmjow shrugged.

"As a unit? Not so much. But there's plenty of work for individuals and pairs. Always something on the bounty board. Might not pay what you're used to, though." He cautioned. A lot of the bounties were low level crap. Stuff like the serial killers paid better, because it required specialized skills. "You could always go back to Earth for jobs, I guess, but depending on where the portal is there'd be some wicked transit time. And the time lag is a killer." They'd have to take at least another day to get used to the change in time between the worlds.

"It would be a lot safer though." Urahara mused. "Bach couldn't reach us there without triggering the war he wanted us to start for him. Interesting. I'll think about it." He stood then and Grimmjow thought of something.

"Hey, the parking permit on the car expires…" He pulled the receipt out of his pocket. "Today at six AM. Could someone go buy another? I don't think I can walk and it's a rental, I can't afford to have it towed." That would just suck. Shinji laughed.

"I'll take care of it. You do think about the small things, don't you? Mark of an organized mind." He said cheerfully and Grimmjow blinked, wondering if he'd just been complimented. He honestly wasn't sure. "What's the license plate?" Grimmjow pulled out the keys and read the plate number from the fob. "I'll be right back."

"Well, I think we know all we need to know." Urahara said with a smile, standing up. "Please, rest a while. And thank you for bringing my nephew to me. His family will be elated to find out he's safe." Grimmjow nodded, but couldn't help but feel a small pain in his chest. Ichigo was home now. He'd be going back to the people who loved him, and that didn't include a blue haired half-elf.

Sighing, Grimmjow settled back down on his cot and tried to rest, shifting a little as he tried to find a comfortable position. The pain between his legs was finally dulling to an ache, but it still wasn't comfortable. He was glad nothing had ruptured. He'd had injuries like that a time or two before, and they were never the least bit fun.

He closed his eyes and finally managed to doze a bit when a young and happy voice woke him up.

"Grimmjow!" Grimmjow opened his eyes to see a smiling Ichigo looking down at him. The kid looked so happy he just had to smile back. "Did Urahara tell you? My family is okay! They're going to take me to them." Grimmjow sat up then huffed out a surprised breath as Ichigo suddenly hugged him. "I'm so happy!"

"I'm happy for you." Grimmjow said gently, taking almost the same tone he used when he called his mother. Ichigo didn't notice, too wrapped up in his own happiness to care. "I guess this is goodbye then." He said after a moment and Ichigo pulled back, his eyes wide.

"Goodbye? …Oh." Ichigo swallowed, his brown eyes dimming as he suddenly realized what this meant. "You… you're not going to stay?" Ichigo looked down, realizing how stupid that idea was. Grimmjow shook his head.

"I can't. I've got a scrapyard, a house and my mom to take care of." He said softly. "Shinji said I'd be welcome here but, see, I learned how to be a cracker and bought that place so I could have a job with no danger. Mom's too sick to take care of herself and with no one to pay her bills she'd die." Grimmjow took Ichigo's hand, gripping it tightly. "I'm sorry Ichigo, but Elvenhome is where I belong." This was painful, even more painful than he'd anticipated. But then, he'd honestly thought he'd be taking Ichigo home with him. He hadn't thought they'd find his uncle so easily. The teen sniffed.

"Grimmjow…" Strong arms were around him then and warm lips were over his. The kiss was passionate and desperate, and Grimmjow gave into it instantly, his arms slipping around Ichigo's shoulders. Ichigo's tongue slipped between his lips and he enjoyed the taste, sweet as honey and warm and wet –

"Ahem." Ichigo shied away from him and Grimmjow turned his head. Urahara was standing in the doorway, with a look that Grimmjow could only call calm but deadly. "Ichigo, your ride is waiting for you. Here's your parking pass, Grimmjow." He handed the half-elf a piece of paper. Grimmjow glanced it over and nodded, putting it in his pocket.

"…Goodbye Grimmjow. Come visit me, please?" Ichigo pleaded, gripping his hand. Grimmjow looked into chocolaty brown eyes and for the first time in a long time, he lied.

"I'll do my best to look you up." He actually had no intention of doing that. It would only make the pain worse. It would be better for them both to let go, to get on with their lives. But he couldn't just say that to Ichigo, not right now, not in front of his uncle. Maybe he'd send the kid a letter, something to express his feelings properly. There was a postal service between Earth and Elvenhome, although it was very expensive and slow. Although he'd have to know Ichigo's address to do that, so maybe he would look up the kid at least once. Ichigo sniffed and hugged him one last time before pulling away. Urahara stepped aside and closed the door behind Ichigo, staying in the room. Grimmjow watched warily as the man with the hat came to his bedside.

"You are much too old for him." He said after a moment studying him. Grimmjow shrugged.

"I know." He said, not bothering to hide his sadness. Urahara frowned, still studying him closely. It was starting to make the half-elf uncomfortable. "What?" He said a touch defensively. "It's legal in Elvenhome." That was clearly the wrong thing to say and Urahara stiffened before suddenly grabbing the front of his shirt, balling his fist in the fabric then pushing down on the base of his throat, shoving him down onto the bed. Grimmjow coughed, gripping the man's wrist. He could have broken that grip in several painful ways, but this was Ichigo's uncle.

"You stay away from him." The threat in his tone could have been cut with a knife. "I never want to see you around here again." Grimmjow mentally said goodbye to the job offer with the Visored. Not that he'd been planning to take them up on it anyway, so it wasn't much of a loss. "Is that clear?"

"Like crystal." He grated out and Urahara finally let go of him. Angry grey eyes met blue eyes that were cold and bitter. Their gazes locked for a moment before Urahara turned away, and Grimmjow waited until he was safely gone before he threw an arm over his eyes.

They'd only had sex once, but that didn't matter. Giving up Ichigo still hurt like a bitch.

* * *

"…I can't believe he was having sex with my nephew." Urahara needed to vent, and the Visored had already heard the little confrontation. The walls were rather thin, and many of them had very good hearing. "That man is at least my age."

"I think he's older." Shinji said, cleaning out one ear with his little finger then examining the earwax. "But hey, it's hard to blame Ichigo for taking the opportunity. I bet everyone in this place except Lisa and Kensei would give him a ride. And hell, you certainly would, Mr. Butt plug." Urahara went bright red as everyone in the room laughed.

"I wouldn't!" Hiyori snapped and Shinji grinned. He loved winding her up.

"Oh, come on now. Just imagine it. Him, tied down to the bed, on his knees, blindfolded and gagged. You, with a riding crop and a strap on – woah!" Shinji tried to dodge a vicious sandal, and ended up on the floor with a footprint in his face. "…Ow." He mumbled then yelped as Hiyori stomped on him. "Hiyori!"

"Hmm, a riding crop and a strap on… I might be interested in that…" Lisa said, a finger on her lips as she stared away thoughtfully. Hiyori abruptly stopped abusing Shinji and he looked over, startled.

"What? Aren't you lesbian?" He said and Lisa blushed lightly, looking away.

"I've been known to make the occasional exception." She said defensively and Hiyori laughed as Shinji pulled himself up, grinning.

"See, Mr. Sex God has attracted even Lisa! How can you blame Ichigo for falling for that glory? Stop being a prude, Urahara!" Shinji shook his head in mock dismay. "Honestly, I never thought I would say that to you."

"He's my nephew, Shinji." Urahara put a hand over his eyes. "I can't imagine what his father will say." He said mournfully.

"Well, maybe you should get going. Ichigo and Love are waiting for you in the car." Kensei said, always practical. Urahara sighed and left the room, dragging his feet mournfully. He really wasn't looking forward to informing Isshin about this, but it was his duty.

"How will his father react?" Hiyori wondered. Shinji shrugged.

"I have no idea. I'm just glad it's not me." He said cheerfully. "Come on Hiyori, we need to relieve Rose." He was currently watching over the building. Hiyori sighed.

"Yah, yah, back to the daily grind." She followed him, leaving Kensei and Lisa behind. The silver haired man glanced at the young woman across from him.

"You occasionally make exceptions?" He asked and Lisa shook her head.

"Are you interested in a strap on and a riding crop?" She asked and Kensei thought about it seriously for a moment.

"I might. Maybe we should discuss it." He said and Lisa looked surprised, then smiled.

"Okay." Things were a bit boring now, with them being on the run from Bach and unable to take new contracts.

Sex was a way to pass the time.

* * *

"I'm an idiot." Grimmjow mumbled to himself as he guided his hoverbike through Elvenhome traffic. "Ugh."

It had been stupid to get so attached to Ichigo. It wasn't just the sex, either. It was all the time they'd lived together, all the things he'd taught the kid. The time they'd spent together at the nightclub dancing, the beers they'd drunk together. Grimmjow had been living alone for so long that it was easy to just get used to having someone else there. His house was going to be achingly empty now.

Grimmjow wasn't paying much attention to the road, not that it would have made any difference. He was in his own neighborhood, and there was almost no traffic this early in the morning. The heavy traffic was going to and fro from the gate, and that traffic carried on all hours of the day, but none of it came to the rough parts of town. The streets were too narrow for the big rigs, nothing else.

Not even superhuman reflexes could save him from what happened next. The net of green materialized between one heartbeat and the next, and a second heartbeat later he hit the net at full speed. The hoverbike halted instantly but Grimmjow didn't, flying over the handlebars at seventy miles per hour.

"SHIT!" Blue power flared as he tried to control his fall, but then something hit him in the back. "Hck!" Grimmjow went down hard, but he knew how to fall. He managed to curl just enough to take the impact on his most durable parts, and his heavy leather jacket, designed for such things, helped. It wasn't perfect, though, and Grimmjow grunted as he felt a rib crunch. Fractured or broken, he wasn't sure but it hurt like a bitch. He flipped himself to his feet anyway, immediately sensing his assailant. To his surprise, it was a familiar aura. "Ulquiorra!" He dodged a dart of bright green energy, retaliating with a spark of blue. "What the fuck man?"

"Grimmjow." His fellow bounty hunter finally revealed himself, stepping out of the shadows. Grimmjow snarled to himself. Ulquiorra was a half-elf, just like himself. But unlike him, his power was just what had occurred naturally from such a pairing. He wasn't as strong as Grimmjow, but he was very clever and dangerous. "I have a contract, on you and a certain child."

"Oh yeah?" Grimmjow snarled, suddenly glad that Ichigo wasn't in Elvenhome. They'd been found out, and apparently Bach had learned from his trouble with Yammy. Bribery always worked really well in Elvenhome. "How much is that bastard paying you to take me on? A million dollars?" There was a pause and Ulquiorra smiled like a cat that had gotten into the cream. Grimmjow's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Yes. You are a mighty opponent, Grimmjow. I'll give you a cut if you hand the boy over to me." Ulquiorra said and Grimmjow had to resist going for his throat. How dare the bastard offer that?

"Fuck you!" He snapped and Ulquiorra didn't look the least bit surprised. But then, he knew Grimmjow's reputation for never taking private contracts. "You're too late anyway. He's back on Earth and I have no fucking clue where he went." Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed at that.

"Then I will have to settle for the secondary bounty." He said and sword clashed against sword as the pale man abruptly attacked. Green light met blue, and Ulquiorra smiled. "I think you're not as strong as they say. I think your reputation is hype."

"Oh yeah?" Grimmjow grinned and that smile faltered. "I'll show you." It had been a long time since he'd been able to really unleash his fury.

He did so now. Ulquiorra quickly found himself pressed back, facing an enraged man with the powers of a full blooded elf. Spells filled the air, warping reality as blue overpowered green time and time again. Ulquiorra had plenty of dirty tricks up his sleeves and he tried to throw a caustic powder into Grimmjow's eyes, but that was nothing new to the blue haired man. He blasted it back instantly and Ulquiorra just barely managed to avoid being struck with his own powder.

Ulquiorra leapt back and threw several knives at Grimmjow. Two of them he simply avoided, but the third he caught, by the hilt. Ulquiorra's eyes went wide at that incredibly demonstration of physical prowess and he didn't manage to dodge as the knife was thrown back.

The pale man stumbled back, clutching his side and coughing. The blade had gone into his lung, not an instantly fatal wound but a painful and dangerous one. Hard to ignore, unlike Grimmjow's cracked or broken rib. He quickly took advantage of the situation and pressed his attack. The battle ended when he broke Ulquiorra's sword, and pressed his own against the other bounty hunter's pale neck. Ulquiorra just looked at him, then dropped the shattered hilt of his weapon.

"It seems I was wrong. You are everything they say. Is it true your father was an elven war chieftain?" Ulquiorra asked, sounding slightly curious. Grimmjow sighed to himself. Trust the freak to ask something like that at a time like this.

"Something like that. Now, Ulquiorra. Harribel –" Grimmjow abruptly stopped as pain lanced through his body. Ulquiorra made a soft gurgling sound and they both glanced down, completely surprised.

A sword had just impaled Ulquiorra, going through the left side of his chest, directly through his heart. The sword had passed through and gone into the right side of Grimmjow's chest, deep into his lung. The half-elf choked on blood as Ulquiorra's eyes rolled up in his head. Looking behind the other man, he saw another familiar face.

"Starrk." Grimmjow breathed the name, mentally cursing himself. He'd been so concentrated on Ulquiorra that he'd lost sight of his surroundings. But Ulqui always worked alone, and Starrk had used Ulquiorra's power and unrestrained aura to conceal himself until it was too late. Ulquiorra hadn't sensed him either, and Ulquiorra was excellent at stealth, so maybe he was being too hard on himself.

Then Starrk pulled the sword out and Grimmjow fell to his knees, watching as Ulquiorra's corpse hit the ground. Bright green eyes were wide open and staring and Grimmjow felt a little sick. He'd never liked the bastard and never trusted him, but he hadn't expected him to die. He'd been planning to spare him.

"Why?" He said, coughing up a bit more blood as he forced himself to his feet. "Why Starrk?" Starrk just shrugged. He was a tall man, wearing nothing but black leather and a wolf tooth necklace. He only had one eye, the other covered in a medical eye patch. He was also a banshee hybrid, and Grimmjow would have been wary of him under normal circumstances. There was no human in Starrk at all. His other half was elf, and that was an unusual and in his case, powerful crossing. Most children from that kind of breeding didn't survive, succumbing to horrific birth defects.

"I don't appreciate other bounty hunters moving in on my kills." Starrk said expressionlessly and Grimmjow swallowed. "Where is the child, Grimmjow?"

"I don't know. He's back on Earth." Grimmjow said shortly before coughing again. "Shit." He mumbled as he tried to heal himself, blue fire dancing on his side. But his healing magic was his weakest point. He needed medical attention, and soon.

"I thought as much as soon as I saw you without him." Starrk said calmly. "Oh well." That was the only warning he got, and Grimmjow lunged out of the way as Starrk suddenly screamed. The banshee wail sent jolts of pain through his body and numbed his skin, and that was only the backwash. If he'd taken the brunt of that he would have been paralyzed and badly hurt.

Blade clashed on blade again and Grimmjow used his magic to block a second scream. But his strength was fading rapidly, draining from the wound that he was aggravating with every move. Very similar to the wound he'd given Ulquiorra, in fact. He managed to hurt Starrk, slashing through those black leathers and staining them with blood. But it wasn't enough, it couldn't be enough, and a scream finally got through his defenses, sending blood flying through the air.

Grimmjow's body seized up, all his muscles going painfully tight. He was barely aware of it as he hit the ground, his sword rolling away. He was just starting to recover when a hard fist hit him in the back of the head, slamming his forehead down onto the hard road. Sparks exploded behind his eyes and Grimmjow could not resist as magically reinforced cuffs were clamped over his wrists. Then there was the prick of a needle, and his head swam.

"It will be easier this way. Bach wants to talk to you, Grimmjow." Starrk's voice was very far away and fading rapidly. Grimmjow reached for his strength but couldn't find it. His mind was going too hazy, the drug overwhelming him.

Blue eyes slowly slid shut as the darkness dragged him under.


	8. Interrogation and a Second Meeting

Grimmjow opened his eyes slowly and carefully, keeping them narrowed to slits. He wanted to preserve the illusion of being unconscious.

The room he was in was familiar, in a generic way. Torture chambers rarely changed much. There was a table, with restraints and grooves to channel the blood. A drain in the floor for the blood to go down. Plenty of nice implements, kept in good condition to prevent inconvenient infections. Almost surgical in nature.

Grimmjow closed his eyes again, letting himself stay slumped in his chains. He was being held in the corner of the room, with seki stone chains. Grimmjow wasn't the least bit surprised. Seki stone was bought from the dwarves, and was actually a by-product of their mining operations. It was cheap and plentiful, so holding a magical prisoner was never much of a problem. Of course, there was a downside. A couple months of seki stone exposure could kill an elf, and Grimmjow was certain he'd be just as vulnerable to it. But from the looks of the room, he wouldn't be lasting months.

The door to the room hissed open, and Grimmjow didn't stir. He had an idea. It would look stupid and stubborn, and that was what he wanted his interrogator to think he was. It would make things much easier later, although it might hurt a lot right now.

"Aren't you awake yet?" A voice said and Grimmjow felt it as a hand gripped his hair, yanking up his head. He made sure the movement was smooth and boneless, as if he was really unconscious. "You – ARGH!" A snake-like movement netted him a mouthful of blood as his teeth sunk deeply into pale flesh. "YOU BASTARD!" Grimmjow opened his eyes and grinned, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth just as the first punch landed.

After a few sharp, painful blows, the man began unhooking his chains from the wall. Grimmjow tried to take the opportunity, but got a boot in the gut for his trouble. This asshole was clearly well acquainted with how to handle prisoners. Grimmjow was still gasping and slightly hunched up as he was forced onto the table, his chains locked into place on the edges of that ugly piece of equipment. The restraints followed and Grimmjow didn't make it easy for the guy to get them on him, struggling for all he was worth.

"Stop it!" The man snapped and Grimmjow paused for a moment, gazing up into furious brownish red eyes. If it weren't for the situation, he would have found this man attractive. He had bright red hair, pulled into a ponytail and tribal tattoos. He also looked incredibly pissed, no surprise for someone who had just been bitten. "You're just making this harder on yourself." Grimmjow snarled at him, but internally he perused that sentence as coolly as a computer.

_He doesn't want to do this to me._ Grimmjow could read that quite easily from this man's body language. A reluctant torturer, curious. _He's a novice._ He might be good at moving unwilling people, but that could mean he'd done time at an insane asylum or something. But the redhead was not an experienced interrogator, he could already tell. _Unpredictable._ That could be problematic. Experienced torturers were more likely to pick up on his survival techniques, but they were also somewhat predictable. A tyro like this could be explosive. And if he hated his work, that was more likely.

But Grimmjow let none of that show on his face. To this man, he would appear to be a resistant prisoner. He would have to time his 'breakdowns' carefully so this man would genuinely think he was broken and accept the lies and half-truths he would spin as fact.

"My name is Renji. I was told you're Grimmjow." The redhead said and Grimmjow blinked, a little surprised. Some people introduced themselves for this sort of thing, but a lot didn't. "Now, I am in charge of you. Bach wants to know everything about you, what you and Ichigo did together, and what you know about the Visored."

"Like hell." Grimmjow replied instantly. Renji looked mildly pained, but not the least bit surprised.

"Then we'll have to do this the hard way." Grimmjow watched as he looked through the tools and finally picked up a thin knife. "I'd say this is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you, but that would be ridiculous."

"Fuck you, asshole." Grimmjow said, playing stupid and stubborn to the hilt. Although he wasn't looking forward to seeing what the redhead planned to do with that knife.

Still, it couldn't be any worse than some of the things his dad had done over the years.

* * *

In Elvenhome, a day or so later.

The snap of a whip filled the room.

It was a small room, made of ugly grey stone. Like the room Grimmjow was in, there was a drain in the floor. This room had a specialized purpose, however. The chains were fixed to the wall, and they had only one purpose. To hold a subject so their body was fully exposed for a whipping.

"F-Fuck… why are you so mad, Harribel?" Starrk was straining against the chains, naked except for a loincloth. He hadn't been expecting trouble when Harribel had called him for a meeting about a special bounty. He sure as hell hadn't been expecting to be ambushed by three of Aizen's goons and Harribel on top of it. He was good, but he wasn't that good, not when he was taken by surprise anyway. There was another crack of the whip and he arched involuntarily. "Shit! B-Bounty hunters kill each other all the fucking time!" There was nothing unusual in that. If you couldn't protect your kill from another bounty hunter, you didn't deserve to have it, was the conventional wisdom. And everyone knew most bounty hunters were also assassins. Straight arrows like Grimmjow were the exception, not the rule.

So he honestly couldn't see why Harribel gave a shit about the blue haired bastard. Certainly Starrk couldn't understand why Aizen cared enough to lend her his muscle. Normally Harribel only had her bounty hunters to command, and none of them could come close to equalling Starrk. Not with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra gone, anyway. Those two working together might have taken him.

"Why am I angry?" Harribel asked him with a tone that was calm and rational, but Starrk swallowed as she stood in front of him. Under that tone, she was seething. "Well, Starrk, you happened to kill Ulquiorra and kidnap Grimmjow. The only two of my bounty hunters capable of using the baboa, right on the brink of a city wide clean up. _You stupid fuck!_" Her fist rocked back his head. "I should kill you right now."

"Shit." Starrk honestly hadn't thought about that. He couldn't use the baboa, so he didn't much pay attention to the serial killer part of the board. Without the baboa hunting them down was just a pain in the ass. "I didn't think –"

"No, you didn't think." The whip came into play again and Starrk bit his lip as blood splattered the floor. But Harribel stopped after a few strokes. "With my two agents gone, do you know who that leaves to do the cleanup?" Starrk blinked. He honestly couldn't imagine. "Me. I haven't used a sword seriously in fifteen years, Starrk. I have a family, I have three little girls and a husband who is NOT going to be happy when he hears I'll probably be gone a _month_ cleaning up your fucking mess!" She snarled, gripping his hair and yanking his head back. Starrk whimpered softly in pain. "If you just hadn't killed Ulquiorra… but you did. Starrk, here is how it's going to be." The tall man opened his eyes with something like hope. That sounded like she was giving him a chance. "You are going to get back Grimmjow." He flinched at that and she laughed, harshly. "I don't care about your ethics as an assassin, and Aizen doesn't either. He's put out a blanket declaration after this fiasco. All assassins are prohibited from taking contracts from Juha Bach or anyone working for him."

"Uh…" Starrk swallowed at that. "Um…" The penalty for breaking those kinds of rules was death, if Aizen caught up with you. Harribel sighed, jerking his head back and making him wince.

"He put that out after what you did, idiot. I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself, but don't get any ideas about collecting the contract on that boy. You won't be welcome in the city if you do." And they both knew that was a death sentence. Starrk had no kin that would take him. Banshees were solitary creatures, mostly, and his elven family had no use for a hybrid. That left the city or Earth, and Starrk couldn't survive Earth for a long period. "Get Grimmjow, Starrk. I have relics for you. Bring him back alive and unharmed, or you die. Understand?"

"Understand." Starrk stood still as she began unchaining him. For a brief moment, he considered killing her and making a run for it. Then the temptation died. If he succeeded, Aizen would be at his throat. And that was damned near impossible to survive.

Trying to get back Grimmjow was his best avenue for survival, now. Starrk just hoped his fellow bounty hunter wasn't holding too much of a grudge. It had just been business, after all. But he didn't think Grimmjow would see it that way.

He wasn't an assassin, after all.

* * *

On Earth, approximately the same time.

"Tch." An incredibly strange looking man watched the replays of the torture sessions. He was wearing far too much makeup, his hair was carefully styled and the golden jewelry he wore did not help much with the overall impression. "Renji, your performance has been subpar at best."

"What!" The redhead wanted to snarl, but held it back. His thoughts went longingly to Byakuya. He'd never imagined he would miss his old boss, but he did. "What do you mean? He's already starting to break." He said defensively.

He'd spent hours yesterday, and more today torturing the man. Renji hated it. It wasn't the kind of work he'd ever thought he'd be stuck doing, when he signed on with Byakuya. But his old master was dead, and Bach had absorbed all his holdings. Renji sometimes wished he'd died with him, but that had not happened. And when he was given the choice between working for Bach and dying, he'd found he wanted to live. Sometimes, he questioned that decision.

"Starting to break?" Mayuri laughed, his usual cackle that set Renji's teeth on edge. He'd also joined Bach recently, arranging a more… amicable merger with Bach's operations. "Really?" Renji glanced at the playback and swallowed. From what he could see, the half-elf was resisting but gradually breaking down. What was Mayuri seeing that he wasn't? "It's my fault, really. I gave you a task well beyond your ability." Mayuri stroked his chin for a moment then grinned. "It's a teaching moment. Renji, let's go over this again." He rewound the tape to a specific sequence. "Have you ever heard of micro-expressions? They're very difficult to spot. But see…" He froze the film on one particular frame, and used the computer to zoom in. "He looks amused, doesn't he? He thinks you're amusing." Renji froze, staring at the close up of Grimmjow's face. The fucker did look amused! "Everything he's shown you has been nothing but clever acting, Renji. There are other signs, I'll go into them later. For now, though, Bach wants his answers and if I let you keep interrogating him we'll get a pack of lies."

"You're going to do it yourself?" Renji asked, feeling his gorge rise. What he'd done to the man would be gentle compared to what Mayuri would do. Mayuri grinned.

"Oh yes. I'll have the truth out of him in less than an hour." Renji blinked as Mayuri swept out of the room. An hour? That just wasn't possible. If this guy was cool enough to be faking it even under torture, there was no way even Mayuri could break him in an hour. "Come, Renji. I'll need you and Akon to hold him. Expect severe resistance." He instructed them and Renji swallowed before following obediently.

In the interrogation room, the elf was hanging from his chains. Burns and red marks marred the surface of his skin, nothing too serious but painful. He looked up at them with a snarl, and Renji could see nothing but stubborn anger in his eyes, fury on his face. If this was acting, it really was very good acting.

But then he got confirmation of everything Mayuri had told him. His 'boss' reached into his robes and, grinning, pulled out something to show it to the half-elf. Instantly, his expression was wiped clean. The fake fury was replaced with a colder, infinitely more dangerous anger.

"I see you recognize this." Mayuri said and Renji tried to get a glimpse of what was in his hands. It looked like a silver diadem with a thick, rectangular piece of moonstone set in the front. "It normally doesn't work well on half-elves, but Starrk told us you're extremely strong. Perhaps it will work well on you, hmm?" There was no reply from the blue haired man, but Renji saw him swallow. What was that thing? "Renji, Akon, restrain him while I put this on him."

It was very hard to pin Grimmjow down, despite the chains limiting his movements. He fought like a wild creature and Renji and Akon were both bruised and breathless by the time Mayuri snapped his trinket into place on the half-elf's head. But the reaction was immediate.

The white part of the diadem went blue, the same shade of blue as the elf's eyes. There was an indescribable sound of agony from the man as he went rigid as a board. Renji cursed and jerked away as his skin seemed to bite at him, prickling with energy.

"Mayuri, what is that thing?" He asked as Grimmjow seemed to fight against himself, thrashing in the chains and tossing his head wildly. Mayuri watched, a satisfied smirk on his lips.

"It's called a diametra. A tool of interrogation that elves sometimes use on each other. Don't ask how I acquired it – it was quite difficult!" Mayuri shook his head with a sigh. "I thought I could use it in conventional interrogations, but I was quite wrong. I didn't understand how it worked, at the time. That little trinket turns his own power against him, tearing open his mental barriers and forcing him to submit his will to whoever has the controlling orb." Mayuri opened his hand, revealing a small ball of moonstone. "Because it uses his power, though, it can only be reliably be used on someone with a great deal of innate power. Even most half-elves don't have enough to properly fuel it. But I think he does." Renji watched as Grimmjow finally slumped in his chains, a thin line of drool sliding down his chin. "It's gotten through. Now, what is your name?"

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez." The reply was immediate, unhesitating, and Renji swallowed at the robotic tone.

"What is your age?"

"Seventy-three." Came the emotionless reply and Renji blinked. But he knew this was a half-elf. They lived a lot longer than humans.

"Where did you learn to resist interrogation?" Mayuri asked, simply for his curiosity.

"From my father and a man named Sofi." Grimmjow replied and Renji frowned. His father?

"Tell me about your father, Grimmjow. What did he do to you?" Mayuri asked, even though it had no bearing on what Bach wanted to know. Renji went pale as Grimmjow emotionlessly began to detail years of physical abuse. The worst was the things he said had happened to his mother. Apparently, his father had showed some restraint with his son, but very little with the woman who had borne him. "Interesting. And the man named Sofi?"

"He managed to catch and enslave me for almost a year." The robotic tone was getting to be seriously creepy, and Renji found he really didn't want to know these things about the blue haired elf. "He tormented me for fun. I eventually escaped and killed him." Mayuri nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. Now, Grimmjow, tell me about how you found the boy." They finally got to the things that weren't just Mayuri's sick curiosity. Grimmjow detailed finding the boy in the trunk of his car. "Tell me about the things you did with him."

The conversation went on and on, as Mayuri had Grimmjow tell him everything he knew about Ichigo and the Visored. He described the building they were hiding in, although he couldn't give them an address, to Mayuri's displeasure. The story of the butt plug made the scientist cackle. Then he questioned Grimmjow about his abilities. The details of his skills as a bounty hunter and elven warrior seemed to please Mayuri. Finally, the interrogation ended, but to Renji's surprise the scientist left the diametra on the elf.

"You're not going to take that off?" He questioned and Mayuri shook his head.

"Not just yet. The longer he wears it, the deeper it will hook into his aura. It will kill him eventually, of course, but he's too strong to die readily and I have an idea. I'll have to see if Bach likes it." Mayuri hummed to himself and Renji hesitated before giving in to curiosity. Kurotsuchi liked to hear himself talk, so he might even tell him.

"What idea is that?" He asked and Mayuri shrugged before responding.

"The diametra can be used to give fairly simple commands that the subject will follow faithfully. Like, oh, to kill someone." Kurotsuchi smiled as Renji blinked. "And I'm sure that man knows the Kurosaki boy's aura, intimately. Bach still wants him dead and having the man who saved him do it might appeal to him." Renji frowned. There was one thing about that he didn't understand.

"Why does Bach want him dead so badly?" Renji asked. "I mean, it made sense when he was supposed to be a message, but now…" Now, Ichigo's death would seem to have no impact at all. The Visored were united in hostility, and the kids' family were out of the way somewhere. It was a bit late to send a message. Mayuri shrugged.

"I think it's just that our master has a tyrannical bent. He ordered the boy to be killed, and he wasn't. He wants to have the mistake rectified, even if the original purpose no longer applies. Eventually he might forget about it but for now, well… this should appeal to him." Kurotsuchi rubbed his hands together. "I'll file my report right away. Keep an eye on Grimmjow's vital signs and if he shows signs of severe distress, remove the diametra." Renji nodded, glancing at the computer that was reading Grimmjow's vital signs, and winced. The stress readings were off the chart. Over time, just that might be enough to kill him.

But it wasn't his place to say anything about that. Mayuri already knew.

* * *

Starrk cursed to himself as he kept tracking Grimmjow.

The man was moving. At first, Starrk had thought the half-elf had escaped from Bach. He was beginning to have darker suspicions, though. If he'd escaped from Bach, the bounty hunter should be heading for Elvenhome. Or even someplace where he could call someone. Instead, he had set out cross country and was heading in a remarkably straight line.

The straightness of his path made Starrk deeply suspicious. He'd come to one point where Grimmjow had climbed up a cliff, rather than making a simple and much faster detour. That was just not normal for anyone, let alone an elf who knew forests like the back of his hand. Starrk was beginning to think that Grimmjow was under some form of control. But where was he going?

That was the important question, and Starrk loped through the woods, hurrying as much as he dared. He needed to reach Grimmjow before he did something to get himself killed.

His own life depended on it.

* * *

Ichigo looked into his tea and wished he could ask for a beer. Or even just some coffee.

But he couldn't. Ichigo was back home, and he was so glad to be with his father and sisters again, but there was a downside. First, he was a child again. In Elvenhome, Grimmjow might have called him kid sometimes, but he'd treated him like an adult. His dad had nearly had a cow when he'd found out his darling son had been drinking and having sex. Now he was grounded, which was sort of laughable given that they were living in a secluded cabin, far outside Karakura town. Still, it bothered him that he was grounded. He honestly didn't feel like a child anymore.

Also, the situation at the cabin wasn't the best. They were basically in hiding, which meant he still wasn't going to school. Neither were Karin and Yuzu, and Isshin was doing his best to homeschool them. It wasn't working out very well, especially given how excitable his dad could be. Karin had threatened to kick his ass if she got one more gold star.

Shrugging, Ichigo decided to take himself and his tea outside. It was winter, but he wanted fresh air, and it never really got too cold in Karakura town. He grabbed his coat before he went outside, though. There was plenty of snow on the ground, making a beautiful carpet around the cabin.

Standing outside in the fresh air, Ichigo smiled as he looked at the woods. They were beautiful, wearing lovely drapery of snow and icicles. Steam rose from his tea, and Ichigo took a sip, savoring the heat as he watched Yuzu and Karin at play. They were building a snowman, and it was already looking –

Ichigo's thoughts came to a complete stop as a figure stepped out of the woods. He recognized the blue hair and took a step forward, stunned yet ecstatic.

"Grimmjow!" He called happily, but then his smile faded. So many things were off, and his instincts screamed a warning as his mind struggled to catch up. Why was Grimmjow not wearing even a sweater? He was wearing only a t-shirt and jeans, he had to be freezing. And why was he wearing a metal headband? Ichigo had never seen him wear any jewelry aside from the odd necklace. And why was he holding a knife?

His mind suddenly caught up to instincts and registered Grimmjow as a threat. Ichigo's hand darted for throwing knives that weren't there, and then he was moving. In one way, he was lucky. He'd fought Grimmjow before, and his attacks now lacked any of the creative touches he'd tortured Ichigo with back in Elvenhome.

But Grimmjow was fast, and his attacks were brutally powerful. Ichigo could tell from the strength he was using that the half-elf really meant to kill him, but there was something strange in his eyes. There was no time to examine it, though. Yuzu was screaming as her brother dodged the knife wielding maniac, trying frantically to find some kind of weapon. Then Ichigo's blood ran cold as Karin tried to intervene.

"KARIN!" He shouted her name just as she kicked Grimmjow in the side. Or rather, tried to. The elven man easily avoided her and then slapped her in the face, hard. Ichigo's breath froze and his mind filled with rage as he saw his sister fly away, blood staining the snow. Then he screamed.

It wasn't a normal scream. Ichigo acted completely on instinct, accessing a side of his heritage he hadn't even been aware existed. The banshee scream was untrained but powerful and Grimmjow went down in a pile of uncoordinated limbs, his knife flying away. The half-elf twitched and spasmed, trying to get up, and Ichigo stared for a moment before running for the knife. If he could just get his hands on that…

His hand closed over the knife just as Grimmjow managed to flip himself up. Ichigo held his breath for a moment, expecting Grimmjow to use his magic, but he didn't. Instead the elf came at him bare handed and Ichigo used to knife to his advantage. He gave Grimmjow a cut across his ribs, but then took a painful kick to his outer knee. And that was lucky, Ichigo thought that the half-elf had been trying to smash his kneecap. They circled, Ichigo limping slightly –

And then there was another scream. Ichigo stared as Grimmjow went flying a second time, but this time the scream was controlled and precise. It tore a wound across the half-elf's back, sending blood flying, and Ichigo stepped back, keeping his knife at the ready as a stranger loped out of the woods. But instead of attacking he flung himself on Grimmjow, gripping the man's arms and yanking them behind his back. Holding them in place with one hand, the stranger – he was a tall, lanky man with wavy brown hair – reached into his clothing and pulled out a syringe. Yanking the top off with his teeth, he injected Grimmjow in the shoulder then held tightly to his wrists.

"Do you have any rope? Fuck!" The man gasped as Grimmjow suddenly began to struggle again. "Stop that, you bastard. If there's any life I'm going to be saving today, it's mine!" He hissed and Ichigo couldn't figure it out. But he didn't care much anyway. Rope, did they have rope?

"One second." He ran into the house and quickly into the garage. He managed to find the cords his dad had used to tie some things onto the car, when they'd first come up here. Ichigo spared a brief moment to wonder where Isshin had gotten to before running back out. When he got back, the stranger was still fighting to hold Grimmjow down. Whatever he'd injected him with was taking a while to take effect.

"Good. You'll have to tie him, I can't let go." He grunted and Ichigo nodded. "I'm Starrk, by the way… Do it like this." Ichigo did his best to follow the directions, getting the ropes on Grimmjow and tightening them. The blue haired man hadn't said a single thing during all of this. "Good. Now…" Starrk ran his fingers over the thing on Grimmjow's head. The half-elf's movements had been getting less and less coordinated, and Ichigo could finally see the look in his eyes clearly. He swallowed hard, meeting those blue orbs. If he'd had to guess, he'd have said that Grimmjow looked like he was screaming inside. "This is tricky. If I just tear it off him, it will pull a chunk out of his aura." Ichigo frowned, wondering why that would be a problem. "That has a physical analogue. Basically, it would tear out a piece of his skull and brain." Ichigo blanched at that idea. THAT sounded bad. "But I think I can ease it off. Do not interrupt me." Starrk began to concentrate and Ichigo went to check on Karin. She was sitting up and Yuzu was trying to get her to put ice on her face.

"Ichigo? Who are they?" Yuzu sounded scared and Ichigo didn't blame her.

"I'm not sure about the second guy. He says his name is Starrk. But the – the person who attacked us is Grimmjow." He said softly and Yuzu and Karin both looked at him wide eyed. They knew all about Grimmjow. The spectacular blow-up when Urahara had told Isshin all about his son's doings had gotten very loud.

"But he's your friend! Why would he try to hurt you?" Yuzu sounded bewildered as Karin scowled. Ichigo glanced at Grimmjow and shook his head. He was fully unconscious now and Starrk was still working on the headband.

"I don't know, but I think that thing he's wearing is magical. And… he didn't really fight like Grimmjow." There had been a strange lack of creativity, as if he was fighting by rote. It wasn't how Grimmjow normally did things. "We'll have to wait until he wakes up to ask." Ichigo said, but he couldn't help but wonder as he watched Starrk work.

What was going on here?


End file.
